Election scandal – 2004
In June 2004, two investigative writers Antonio Abaya and Roberto Verzola, analyzing the results independently of each other, separately published their conclusion that the discrepancies between the official count by Congress and the citizens’ tally by NAMFREL indicated significant cheating by winning candidate Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. However, few paid attention to the allegations, and Macapagal-Arroyo was proclaimed winner on June 24, 2004. Verzola’s findings that "Gloria Macapagal Arroyo did not win by around 1.1 million votes over Fernando Poe Jr." and that "it was a very close contest, with the most probable results ranging from a GMA win of around 156,000 votes or less, to an FPJ win of around 84,000 votes or less" were subsequently published in Kasarinlan, an internationally-refereed academic journal published by the country’s top university, the University of the Philippines.
On the night of December 11, 2004, Poe was admitted into Saint Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City, after complaining of dizziness at a gathering in his production studio premise. He suffered from a stroke and slipped into a coma while being treated for a brain clot. On December 14, Poe died due to a massive stroke. By this time, allegations were rife that Arroyo cheated in the elections.
On June 10, 2005, Samuel Ong, a former deputy director of the country’s National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said that he is a source of a set of original audio tapes of a wiretapped conversation between President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and an official of the Commission on Elections, allegedly Virgilio Garcillano.
The contents of the tape allegedly proves, according to Ong, that the 2004 national election was rigged by Arroyo and that she is not the real winner of the said election. If the Supreme Court declares that Arroyo cheated and rigged the 2004 elections, Vice President De Castro would become President, that is if he is found to be innocent of poll fraud charges brought by Poe’s running mate Loren Legarda.
Links
See also
- Official Congressional canvass - 2004
- Election scandal - 2004 (This post)
- PET Case No. 003, Legarda v. De Castro, January 18, 2008
- COMELEC's move for an automated elections - 2004
- The LDP split - 2004
- Eddie Gil's candidacy - 2004
- Death of Lawyer Maria Jeanette Tecson
- Fernando Poe, Jr.’s candidacy - 2004
- Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s candidacy - 2004
- Philippine General Election - 2004