SEN. GRACE POE'S PRIVILEGE SPEECH ON THE 20th ANNIVERSARY OF THE HELLO GARCI SCANDAL
May 8, 2024

Mr. President, dear colleagues, twenty years ago this month, a phone call changed the course of our country's history. To jog our collective memories, recorded phone calls between a presidential candidate who was then trailing behind the votes, and then-Election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, resulted in the biggest electoral crisis that this country has seen.

To be specific, there were around fifteen calls but it was one phone call that echoes in our history forever as "Hello Garci". The ignominy still rings today and its brazenness echoes in eternity.

In "Hello Garci", a leader - who had placed her hand on the Bible to swear before God and people that she will obey the laws of land - was clearly heard shopping for votes to salvage an electoral debacle.

Dito sa Pilipinas, may kasabihan tayo na: walang kandidatong natatalo, puro nadadaya lang. Pero sa pagkakataong ito, hindi lamang nahuli ang magnanakaw sa akto, nag-sorry pa!

The phone call recorded a woman's voice panic-buying for votes; in fact, it recorded a presidentiable nominee, pressing Election Commissioner Garcillano who was on the other end of the line, to produce one million votes.

The call echoed a haggling for more votes. To quote, the transcript would show: "'Yung dagdag, 'yung dagdag."

It was not the polite conversation one would expect between a sitting President and a constitutional officer. To 85 million eavesdropping Filipinos, it confirmed an open secret about our elections - that votes can be bought and, for those that could not be bought, can be changed.

At a time when ballots were manually counted, Garcillano, though he was no tabulating machine, meekly gave his assurance, that the one million votes would be reflected in the Certificates of Canvass (COCs).

True enough, some of the COCs - or now Certificates of Cheating - were later transmitted to Congress, standing as delivery receipts of the votes that were ordered.

And when discrepancies were pointed out during the congressional canvass, they were ignored and buried under an avalanche of "Noted", "Noted", "Noted."

And that was how Filipinos lost the election in 2004; the loser was proclaimed winner. Kung malaki ang tinaya, mas maki ang kailangang ikubra. Huwag sana mabaon sa limot na ang Hello Garci scandal ay nanganak nang sandamakmak na impeachment complaints, isang bonggang fertilizer scam worth P728 million, PhilHealth card scam worth P530 million, and the NorthRail project worth $503 million para lang may pambayad sa mga tumulong mag-deliver ng boto, at maging ang lisensya para sa Maguindanao massacre.

In short, it was the people who paid for the crimes of the "Hello Garci" actors.

Mr. President, a good two decades have passed since the "Hello Garci" was pulled off, and I am recalling it today, not as a daughter of the decent man who was robbed of votes, but as a senator of the Republic who believes it is her duty not to let this blot in our history fade from the nation's memory.

In doing so, I am just taking the cue from my father who died heartbroken for the people who were let down by the system. But while the father may have forgiven those who did him wrong, the daughter will never forget the names nor the crimes that were committed to our people.

More than the need to move on, we need to move forward. Because I believe that it is not the passing of time that heals wounds, or mends wrongs.

It can only be cured if we apply remedies that will prevent it from happening again, of lessons so powerful that it deters repetition, by sanctions that await those who try to commit it once.

Tragedies ought to be a teachable moment for us, and the "Hello Garci" episode should have birthed laws that would prevent it from revisiting us. But on this, I am sad to note, did not fully happen.

Yes, there were laws passed, like poll computerization, and minor fixes, but the biggest scourge, the buying of votes has not been purged out of our politics.

Our counting may have turned electronic but our machines are fast aging.

Aside from technological reforms, a lot more needs to be done in our electoral landscape. These include redefining what electoral crimes words like "premature campaigning", "vote-buying", and "vote-selling" cover. Campaigning should effectively start as candidacy is filed, and vote-buying should include all possible modes like the buying of votes through e-wallets that we saw in 2022. Electronic na po ngayon, Mr. President.

On this note, I will be filing a bill which shall prohibit vote buying and selling through electronic means o 'yung mga pagbili na gamit ang GCash or Maya.

So much must be done in so little time. We are fast approaching the midterm national elections next year and yet the landscape has not changed much since the electoral crisis two decades ago.

It is when we fail to act immediately that the Hello Garci crisis continues to haunt us. There were many impeachment complaints but no one was punished for this crime. The guilty remains in power, taking refuge in our collective amnesia to delete our memory on the wrongs they have committed. Pagala-gala pa rin si Garcia, parang wala lang nagyari.

Matagal kong pinag-isipan kung sasariwain ko ulit itong mapait na yugto, ngunit hindi ito isang personal na bagay lamang. Ito ay kasaysayan na dapat hindi malilimutan at dapat magsilbing aral sa bago at darating pang henerasyon.

History is neither political nor personal. Hindi namemersonal ang kasaysayan. Isinasaad lamang kung ano ang nangyari. Paalala ito sa atin na dapat mamili kung anong legasiya ang nais nating iwanan sa ating mga anak.

Today, let history show us the way. Here is a film presentation that details the events that unfolded in 2004.