Press Release
May 28, 2014

10 years after "Hello Garci"
Grace Poe: Never Again

Sen. Grace Poe called for comprehensive electoral reforms in the country as she urged the public to learn from the harsh lessons of the fraudulent 2004 presidential elections.

In a privilege speech marking the 10th year since the electoral schemes that cheated Fernando Poe Jr. and foiled the will of the electorate, Poe said, "We should prevent these from happening again. We should ensure that our right to elect our leaders is protected."

Poe recollected the grand conspiracy to steal the vote from FPJ and manufacture a mandate for GMA perpetrated by her political operators in connivance with unscrupulous officials in the COMELEC. She recounted that even before the voting began, there was already a scheme hatched by the Arroyo camp to rig the elections in favor of GMA. Poe in her speech claimed that "a large number of fabricated votes were already chamber-loaded in GMA's favor to serve as a 'buffer' against FPJ's popularity."

"A week after the elections, Mrs. Arroyo realized that her 'buffer' votes were not enough to cover the avalanche of FPJ votes coming in from Metro Manila and the so-called Lingayen-Lucena Corridor. This is why she made no less than 15 phone calls to Garci within a 15-day period (from May 26 to June 10), realizing that the fabricated votes that her minions 'chamber-loaded' before the elections were not enough to make her win. To win, she had to have Mindanao," Poe said.

The senator proposed several reform measures to prevent electoral fraud from occurring in future elections.

She filed Senate Resolution No. 679 seeking to preempt computer-aided, technology-driven electoral offenses by assessing the current automated system and conducting an omnibus review of the Electoral Code and relevant laws.

"I submitted a legislation that will address the new dynamics of automated elections and reformulate our outdated laws by creating a new set of penalties for computer-aided, technology-driven election offenses. We need to prevent 'high-tech' election fraud from making a mockery of our electoral system," Poe stressed.

The senator also endorsed the immediate passage of the Whistleblowers' Protection Act to embolden more people to come out with what they know. "There is a difference between the intention of a patriot and that of a snitch or a weasel. One is a selfless act to uphold the truth, the other is a selfish one to save his or her own hide. We need to distinguish and protect a true whistleblower. We need to pass the Whistleblowers' Protection Act," she explained.

Poe also proposed to extend the prescriptive period for election offenses from the current five years to 10 years. This is to prevent future cheaters from evading prosecution since they are being protected by the powers-that-be, as was the case with the so-called "Garci boys."

Likewise, Poe suggested that the Anti-Wiretapping Law be amended to include election fraud as one of the instances by which a court could allow a wiretap. At present, Philippine courts are only authorized to issue legal wiretapping orders in cases related to terrorism, espionage and crimes involving national security.

"We need to equip the authorities with the proper tools so they can successfully detect, preempt and prosecute would-be cheaters and unscrupulous defrauders of elections," Poe said.

Poe exhorted the people to remain vigilant and prevent another "Hello Garci" from subverting the will of the Filipino electorate.

"Many of our colleagues here have worked with FPJ either in the film industry or during the 2004 campaign. I'm sure they've witnessed his generosity, humility, and genuine spirit. FPJ identified with the poor. He felt their pain," Poe said.

"When FPJ was asked what he thought about the events following the elections, he spoke for the most marginalized members of society when he answered, 'Huwag nating alisin ang pag-asa ng ating mga kababayan. Baka iyon na lang ang natitira sa kanila.' Please allow me to pay tribute not just to my father but to the millions of Filipinos who waited long hours under the heat and rain, who made the long journey just to cast their votes under dangerous conditions, and those who came out to defend the truth even in the most trying times," Poe ended.

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