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Saturday, July 02, 2005
Nothing illegal on CD: Emano
By Danilo V. Adorador III
THERE is nothing in the controversial "Gloria wiretapped" CD that constitutes any violation whatsoever by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Mayor Vicente Emano said Friday.
The House of Representatives joint committees conducting an inquiry on the wiretapped phone conversation voted Thursday night to allow the playing of the audio CD, which was earlier, submitted by Allan Paguia, a former lawyer of deposed President Joseph Estrada.
Mayor Emano said he listened to almost the entire audio presentation, which was broadcasted live by a Filipino cable news channel.
He said he had to stop listening to the full presentation of the tape, as he found "nothing" in it.
"It was empty and I could see from the television that many were disappointed," Emano told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.
Emano said: "It was clear that the president did not order (former elections Commissioner Garcillano) to inflate her votes in their conversation."
On the part in which the male voice President Arroyo was talking to said:
"Magko-compensate ho sa Lanao yan (It can be compensated in Lanao)," Emano offered this explanation:
"Naturally because she won in Lanao del Sur fair and square and she was concerned that her votes be protected there to compensate her loss in some other areas."
Arroyo lost heavily in Lanao del Norte.
Earlier, a group calling itself Lanao United Movement (LUM) accused the opposition of recruiting their leaders to supposedly admit that there was massive election rigging in their Lanao del Sur to "discredit the president."
LUM is formerly allied to the presidential bid of the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. but had change loyalty to Arroyo's camp barely weeks before the 2004 elections.
Emano earlier acknowledged that the president's call to the poll official was "improper" as she had admitted over this week in a public apology.
Despite this, Emano said it could have been impossible to change the election results as Arroyo's call was made one month after the 2004 elections.
The president, he said, was anxious that the "unusual" delay in the Senate canvassing then would destabilize the economy.
(July 2, 2005 issue)
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