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Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Arroyo owns tape voice: 'I'm sorry'
MANILA -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo finally broke her silence on the taped phone conversation she had with an election official during the canvassing of presidential votes last year and admitted that she did make the call.
"I recognize that making any such call was a lapse in judgment. I am sorry. I also regret taking so long to speak before you on this matter. I take full responsibility for my actions," Arroyo said in a televised address to the nation Monday night.
The announcement increased the pressure on Arroyo to step down amid opposition allegations that she conspired with an elections commissioner to manipulate votes in her favor.
Former president Joseph Estrada said in a television interview that Arroyo should have asked for forgiveness a long time ago, adding that there was no lapses in judgment on her part because she made the calls to the election official repeatedly.
He criticized Arroyo for taking too long to issue a statement on the tape. Estrada said Arroyo should face the consequences for her action.
A lawyer filed Monday an impeachment complaint before the House of Representatives against the President for "allegedly cheating in the May 2004 presidential elections."
Oliver Lozano, a known supporter of Estrada, said, "there is strong evidence" that President Arroyo committed election fraud that led to her victory over the late movie actor Fernando Poe Jr.
He said Arroyo committed "betrayal of public trust", which is an impeachable offense.
Any citizen can file an impeachment complaint against the President at the House, where it must be approved by at least one third of its members before the case is sent to the Senate for trial.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the impeachment complaint "is scripted to save the Arroyo administration following the jueteng and wiretapping scandals.
"The administration is now batting the opposition to file an impeachment case against President Arroyo under the pretext of upholding the constitutional due process knowing it has the numbers in the House of Representatives to thwart this move right from square one," Pimentel said.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, for his part, doubted whether the impeachment complaint will prosper.
On the other hand, civil society groups that helped install Arroyo as President in 2001 will form a "truth commission" to look into the wiretapped tapes linking her to election fraud.
The groups said they would invite former president Corazon Aquino to help the fact-finding body whose members could possibly comprise retired justices and other legal and technical experts.
Saying that the Arroyo administration has a "serious credibility problem," the convenors of the commission said that only an independent body composed of persons of "unquestionable integrity could fully resolve the vital questions surrounding the tapes."
Karen Tañada of the National Peace Conference said that results of the investigation of either the National Bureau of Investigation or that of the House of Representatives would always be doubtful to the people because of the government's credibility problem.
The President, however, rejected calls to step down. She said that when she called the commissioner the "outcome had been predicted by every major public opinion poll" and adjudged free and fair by international observers.
Arroyo allies lauded the President for her admission and for apologizing for making the call while businessmen said the President's act would finally help clear the air and stabilize the political situation in the country.
Arroyo recalled that congressional canvassing of votes for president and vice president had been slow and she was "anxious to protect" her votes, which prompted her to talk to some people and place calls, including "a Comelec (Commission on Elections) official."
"I was anxious to protect my votes and during that time had conversations with many people, including a Comelec official. My intent was not to influence the outcome of the election, and it did not. As I mentioned, the election had already been decided and the votes counted. And as you remember, the outcome had been predicted by every major public opinion poll, and adjudged free, fair and decisive by international election observers, and our own Namfrel (National Movement for Free Elections)," said Arroyo.
Although she did not name the "Comelec official," it was apparent that she was referring to erstwhile election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.
Arroyo said she wanted to close the tape scandal chapter and move on in governing the country.
She asked the people to join her in efforts to improve the country's economy as she mentioned her administration's fiscal reform programs.
"Nothing should stand in the way of this work, or the next phase of my reform agenda, which includes new investments in education and social services with our new revenues; and an expansion of our successful anti-corruption and lifestyle checks," she said.
"That is why I want to close this chapter and move on with the business of governing," the President added. (Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)
Click here for a chronology of the crisis.
Click here for the transcript of Arroyo's confession.
(June 28, 2005 issue)
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