Where did Habacon get all those money he distributed during 2004 elections?

One of the libel suits filed by Mike Arroyo against Malaya publisher Jake Macasaet and editors was over a May 19, 2004 article by Senate reporter JP Lopez quoting former senator Francisco “Kit” Tatad identifying the husband of Gloria Arroyo as the “chief operator” in manipulating the results of the 2004 elections.

Tatad, in that article, said uniformed personnel were seen altering elections results in Mindanao precincts.

Please click here (VERA Files) to read the 65-page summary of interviews.

There were also reports of Arroyo and then National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales in Mindanao. Their visits usually preceded distribution of money to election operators.

These things came to mind while reading the summary of the interviews done by the Mayuga Fact-Finding board headed by then Vice Admiral Mateo Mayuga on the alleged involvement of the military in the 2004 electoral fraud.

The testimonies of then Lt. Cols Victoriano Pimentel and Elmer A. Estopin are good leads to pursue. The two said they were given by then Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon money after the elections and were not asked to liquidate.

That should have raised a red flag to the investigators because they knew, as military officers, the importance of liquidation of funds. But the Board didn’t ask Habacon where he got the money that he distributed to the officers.

Could the money have come from Mike Arroyo?

This is a part of the summary of Pimentel’s testimony:

“During the election period, he admitted to have received money from TF Comet under MGen Habacon the amount between P90,000-100,000 and distributed the money to the Company Commanders and Platoon Leaders to support requirements such as meals, water and other basic needs. He admitted he did not submit or directed any expenditure report about the funds received from TF Comet.

“He admitted having received P70,000 cash after the election from MGen Habacon. He said that said cash was an additional support for the election. He recalled that the money was inside an envelope and distributed to Battalion Commanders by MGen Habacon at the 104th Brigade Headquarters.

This is part of the summary of Estopin’s testimony:

“He said he received fund support for election duties personally given by the Cmdr Task Force Comet, Gen Habacon, but it was given after the election. …The cash was around P75,000 which he claimed to have been distributed to his Company through his Logistics Officer but was not required to liquidate.”

Habacon, it must be recalled was the officer mention by Garcillano in a late night conversation with Gloria Arroyo on June 2, 2001 when she expressed her fears that the figures in the Statement of Votes and the Certificates of Canvass didn’t match.

GMA: Hello. Dun sa Lanao del Sur tsaka sa Basilan, di raw nagmamatch ang SOV sa COC?

Garcillano: Hindi nagmamatch? May posibilidad na hindi magmatch kung hindi nila sinunod ‘yung individual SOV ng mga munisipyo. Pero aywan ko lang ho kung sa atin pabor o hindi. Kasi doon naman sa Basilan at Lanao Sur, itong ginawa nilang pagpataas sa inyo, hindi naman ho kwan, maayos naman ang paggawa eh.

GMA: So nagmamatch?

Garcillano: Oho. Sa Basilan, alam nyo naman ang mga military dun eh hindi masyadong marunong kasi silang gumawa eh. Katulad ho dun sa Sulu, sa General Habacon. Pero hindi naman ho, kinausap ko na ‘yung Chairman ng Board sa Sulu. Ang akin patataguin ko na muna yung EO ng Pangutaran na para hindi siya maka-testigo ho.

The figures in Election returns, SOV and COCs didn’t match because the soldiers turned cheating operators were just concerned of the number of votes Arroyo needed to overtake the lead of opposition candidate Fernando Poe, Jr.

In fact in Panguntaran, Sulu, the number of registered voters was 11,080. If you add total number of votes cast for all the five presidential candidates, the total number was 11,468.

Originally, Arroyo had 716 votes while FPJ had 4,252 appearing in the COCs. In the SOVs the votes of Arroyo became 8,716 and FPJ was reduced to 2,252.

Never was so degraded than in the 2004 elections. The late Ferdinand Marcos used the military to prop up his dictatorship but never reduced them as cheating operators.

Sure, there were tampering of election results during Marcos time but it was done by the war lords and their minions. The military just looked the other way.

The summary of Habacon’s testimony did not say if he was asked by the Mayuga Board about what Pimentel and Estopin revealed. In fact, when he was asked about the possibility that AFP Officers could have been involved in partisan politics, Habacon merely said: “I cannot answer that”.

He didn’t even deny it.

Habacon got his due reward. He got promoted despite the Hello Garci controversy. Maybe it can be said that he got the Southern Command because of his role as heard in the Hello Garci tapes.

Senators Chiz Escudero and Antonio Trillanes IV and Reps. Neri Colmenares and Teddy Casiño are right in saying that although the Mayuga Report was a big disappointment, it provides leads which can be pursued to get to the truth of the greatest theft committed by Arroyo against the Filipino people.