MANILA, 13 April 2005 — A military inquiry has cleared four generals of allegations that they were involved in vote-rigging during the 2004 Philippine presidential election, which President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo won.

Instead, the panel of investigators recommended that some lower-ranking officers be further quizzed for possible involvement in election irregularities unrelated to Arroyo’s candidacy and for “unprofessional conduct.”

Vice Admiral Mateo Mayuga, who headed the panel when he was the inspector general of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said the inquiry found no evidence against Lt. Gen. Roy Kyamko, Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon, and Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani.

Kyamko, Esperon and Habacon were linked to alleged efforts to rig the election to give Arroyo a one-million vote winning margin over his closest rival, the immensely popular actor Fernando Poe Jr.

Gudani was accused of showing partisanship to Poe, who died of a massive stroke months after his defeat.

Worst Crisis

The vote-rigging allegation emerged in March last year after and sparked calls for Arroyo’s resignation. Her worst crisis has since eased but continues to foment small, frequent protests and military unrest.

The Mayuga probe began in July last year, months after Arroyo’s foes leaked copies of wiretapped tape recordings of a poll official’s phone conversations linked to an alleged operation to rig the elections.

All four generals were mentioned in the tapes, which also showed then election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano discussing with Arroyo how to ensure her victory.

During the election period, Esperon was deputy chief of staff for operations (J3). He was also deputy commander of Task Force HOPE.

The three others were stationed in Mindanao — Kyamko was the chief of the military’s Southern Command, Habacon was commander of the army’s 1st Infantry Division based in Sulu province, while Gudani was commander of the First Marine Brigade based in Marawi City.

In the tapes, Garcillano supposedly told Arroyo that Gudani was supportive of Poe.

Garcillano also purportedly told Arroyo he “worked” with Esperon and Kyamko for Gudani’s relief as First Marine Brigade commander. Gudani was relieved after polling precincts closed on May 10, 2004, allegedly due to a shooting incident in Marawi.

Habacon was alluded on the tapes by Garcillano as “not having enough knowledge” on alleged cheating.

In the recordings, Garcillano also supposedly told a certain “Boy” to expect a call from police general Arturo Lomibao, who was chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group during the election period.

The generals have separately denied tampering with election results.

Rewarded

And except for Kyamko, who retired after the election, and Gudani, who later retired after being placed under restriction for testifying in a Senate probe against his superiors, all the generals linked to the fraud have been promoted to key positions.

Arroyo appointed Lomibao as chief of the Philippine National Police last year when the chief retired. Esperon was named chief of the Philippine Army, and Habacon was appointed recently as Southcom chief.

Mayuga, who made his report public only three weeks after getting the go-signal from President Arroyo, was appointed chief of the Philippine Navy.

His panel wrapped up its investigation in October but the report was submitted to Gen. Generoso Senga, AFP chief of staff, only on Jan. 20. Senga never discussed the contents of the report, and instead forwarded it to Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz Jr.

Cruz, in turn, transmitted the report to Malacañang, and said during a press conference in early March that its release was the judgment call of President Arroyo.

Earlier this month, Cruz said the burden of releasing the report had been tossed back to Mayuga.

No Whitewash

Mayuga vehemently denied accusations of a whitewash. “We invited some 70 people who gave testimonies and not one of them testified or gave any evidence that will prove these generals were involved in elections fraud,” a report by The Associated Press quoted Mayuga as saying.

In addition to his recommendation that some lower-ranking officers be further investigated, Mayuga said his report also suggested that the practice of deputizing the military for election duties be reviewed.

Soldiers are traditionally asked to guard ballot boxes and the canvassing of votes.

Arroyo approved his recommendations and ordered the defense secretary and military chief of staff to enforce a plan to recall soldiers assigned to guard politicians and diplomats, the military said. Arroyo has taken steps to wean the military from the realm of politics.

Nearly 300 soldiers acted as elections inspectors and some of the results of the 2004 elections were canvassed in at least two military camps for security reasons, according to a summary of Mayuga’s investigation.

It Ain’t Over Yet

Sworn depositions by Gudani and another Marine officer last year, implicating senior military officers closely associated with Arroyo in election fraud, helped the opposition launch impeachment proceedings against her in Congress.

Gudani told the Senate that when he was commander of the 1st Marine Brigade, he saw vote-buying and other irregularities aimed at securing Arroyo’s election victory.

“This is the only place where I saw cheating from start to end,” he said of the province of Lanao del Sur where Arroyo won heavily over Poe. “They were herding voters from other towns,” to polling centers while politicians handed out money to buy votes, he said.

The House of Representatives, dominated by Arroyo’s political allies, howeverm has not yet released its findings.

An investigation in the Senate, a bastion of the opposition, is under way.

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, an Arroyo critic, refused to react to Mayuga’s findings and said the Senate investigation into the wiretap conversations which he leads would continue. “I want the complete truth ... I’m not making any conclusion now,” he said.

Arroyo survived three impeachment bids over vote-rigging and corruption allegations after her predominant allies in the House blocked a potentially explosive investigation.

Opposition politicians and left-wing groups, however, have continued to demand that she step down.

The military quashed a coup plot against Arroyo last February then declared a state of emergency to crack down on officers and opposition figures linked to the coup. She lifted the emergency declaration a week later amid widespread opposition by pro-democracy groups. (With reports from Inquirer News Service & Agencies)