Defense department studies release of ‘Mayuga Report’

MANILA, Philippines—The defense department raised on Friday the possibility of declassifying and making public the so-called Mayuga Report once it has completed a review of the findings of a military commission absolving military officers of poll fraud charges in 2004.

Col. Hernando Iriberri, Department of National Defense spokesperson, said a five-person committee has been tasked to determine whether the Mayuga Report was “logical and valid,” as well as to determine the wisdom of declassifying it.

“The department is not withholding the Mayuga Report from the public, The fact of the matter is the President gave instructions to the DND to review the report,” he told reporters in a briefing.

“We already have a review committee headed by Defense Undersecretary Honorio Azcueta,”  Iriberri said, adding that President Aquino had wanted the DND to look into whether the Mayuga panel had made the correct conclusions.

The same committee will recommend whether to make public the Mayuga Report, he added.

The Mayuga Report was the result of an investigation conducted by a panel headed by former Navy chief Mateo Mayuga that was created to look into the alleged involvement of military officers in election fraud in 2004.

Only excerpts absolving the military of wrongdoing were released to the public in the past.

The report, officials said, cleared the “Garci generals” who were mentioned in taped telephone conversations supposedly  between former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former Election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano during the canvassing of votes in the 2004 elections.

They were former AFP chief of staff Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Roy Kyamco, Gabriel Habacon and Francisco Gudani.