Mayuga report did not point to Arroyo role in ’04 poll fraud—Aquino

MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday said the controversial Mayuga Report did not point to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s involvement in the alleged fraud in the 2004 presidential election as he noted that this was because the report tended not to follow through questions on sensitive issues like this.

Congress proclaimed Arroyo the winner in that election that continues to be questioned a year after the contested term expired.

The Mayuga Report was made by a fact-finding panel headed by former Navy chief Mateo Mayuga. The panel was assigned to look into the alleged involvement of military officers in election fraud in 2004, but its report was not made public.

“Ang issue kasi, parang mag-uumpisa na baka tumungo doon, hininto yung pagtatanung dun sa linyang yun, tapos chi-nange topic (The issue started on that track which could have led to it but the questioning on that line stopped and the topic was changed),” said Aquino when asked whether Arroyo’s involvement in the alleged poll fraud was pointed out in the Mayuga Report.

When asked whether the Mayuga investigators’ actions then were deliberate, the President said: “It’s difficult to say deliberate, because you’re talking of intentions.”

But the President said that the government could no longer touch on the subject of election violations because the prescription period for this expired in 2009.

Still, he said, he has asked the defense and justice departments to look into other violations that may have been committed as revealed by the report.

This included allegations that a high official or someone in power in the past administration visited the military camp before election, said Aquino.

It will be the Department of National Defense that will study the “leads” on the Mayuga Report while the Department of Justice will file the cases, according to Aquino.

Justice Secretary Leila De Lima described the synopsis of the Mayuga Report, which she read, as “may pagkabakla [rather weak].”

De Lima, who was in Malacañang, told reporters that there could be other charges that could be unearthed in the report, including violations of the Revised Penal Code or the Anti-Graft and Corruption Practices Act.

“And if there are other military officers and personnel who are still active in the service and their participation in the alleged electoral fraud could be established, they could be charged under the Articles of War,” she said.