Thursday, May 10, 2007 Military denies plan to rig poll results
ARMED Forces Chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. on Wednesday scored at a group composed of active and retired military men who earlier revealed the existence of a plan detailing the government and the military's plan to manipulate the results of Monday's elections.
Esperon said the Bantay Boto group "manufactured Oplan Mercury Rising just to vilify the 120,000-strong military establishment and the government in general."
The group is composed of military-based groups, including the Magdalo Group and the Para sa Bayan, who staged a short-lived Oakwood mutiny in July 2003 and last year's failed power grab, respectively.
"The objective is simply to vilify some groups including the military," said Esperon of the group, which included former Army chief Raul Urgello and former Northern Luzon Command chief Romeo Domingo as among its convenors.
The other convenors of the group are former PNP chief Recaredo Sarmiento and Navy commodore Ismael Appari. The two, along with Urgello, supported the candidacy of the late Fernando Poe Jr. in the 2004 elections.
Appari, quoting a government document, said Malacañang plans to cheat in 16 provinces and regions where there are more than 14 million votes. He said they will closely monitor the elections in those areas.
The group also said that some election officers have been offered huge sum of cash so that Team Unity senatorial candidates Michael Defensor, Jose Miguel Zubiri and Prospero Pichay would land in the first three spots in their areas.
The group has linked Esperon and Army chief Romeo Tolentino in the alleged cheating operations. Among others, it said Esperon has ordered military personnel to vote only for Team Unity candidates.
"I hope that when they were still in the service, they were as good in coming up with a plan. Some of the personalities (in the group), I would like to believe, will come up with anything just to be able to say something against government in general," said Esperon.
Esperon stressed that he has not issued a radio message ordering the soldiers to vote for Team Unity.
Asked for a comment, Appari said: "Tell him (Esperon) that he was my student at the Special Intelligence Training School. Do you think Commodore Appari will lie?"
"We are the generals of the old (time). We maintain the (validity of the report), the documents are there. My challenge to General Esperon is for him to do his homework. It (supporting documents) will not be served to you on a silver platter," said Appari.
At the Commission on Elections (Comelec), spokesman James Jimenez allayed fears over "Oplan Mercury Rising"
Comelec Spokesperson Director James Jimenez said the presence of several watchdog groups and observers will thwart the implementation of electoral fraud on a massive scale.
He added that in order for the alleged plot to succeed, a "grand conspiracy might be needed" as he expressed doubt that it will succeed.
Team Unity slammed the opposition "for concocting one tale of imaginary fraud after another to lay the groundwork for a possible series of destabilization plots following the imminent defeat of its senatorial bets on May 14."
Team Unity deputy spokesperson Tonypet Albano said "such outrageous tales being floated by retired military officers in apparent cahoots with GO leaders, notably the alleged padding of 14 millions in TU bailiwicks, has further lent credence to the earlier media-reported military intelligence reports about a post-election destabilization plot being hatched by ultra-rightist and leftist groups in conspiracy with the mainstream opposition."
Albano said proper mechanisms are already in place to deter electoral fraud, including the move by the Comelec to reshuffle the members of the Board of Canvassers and add one more election return for public posting.
Meanwhile, reelectionist Senator Ralph Recto said "in an election, conspiracy theories are weapons of mass distraction."
"Oplan Mercury Rising falls under this category, it is an attempt to plant the seeds of doubt in the minds of the people so the latter would question the outcome of an exercise, even if in the end nothing irregular happened," said Recto.
"As election day nears, we should be wary of so-called oplans, especially in this land of do-your-own intel reports," he added. (VR/CPB/MSN/JMR/Sunnex)
