FINAL REPORT - Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

may be labeled as betrayal of public trust in addition to the
violations committed under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices
Act and the Law on Plunder.
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To this date, no effort on her part has been made, no categorical denial
was even heard. But all allegations and testimonies point to her
benefiting the most in an intricate scheme of deception and fraud. Only
this much the committees of the Senate know: that the fertilizer
fund was misused. It was corrupted. It was intended to assure her
victory. Mrs. President, could it be true?
The committees demand the truth. The Filipino farmers deserve no
less.”
And finally, of course, former Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and
Development Corazon “Dinky” Soliman described before the CCTA how the Cabinet of
President Arroyo, in the presence of the latter or of then Executive Secretary Romulo
in her stead, would discuss as a normal part and priority of the agenda of Malacañang
an assessment of the specific areas in which President Arroyo’s chances of election
would be strong or weak, and how delivery of services could be patterned as to
strengthen her chances in the weak election spots – as follows:
C. Testimony of former Secretary of Social Welfare CORAZON “DINKY” SOLIMAN
before the CCTA on November 16, 2005 --
“MS. DINKY SOLIMAN: I was in Pangasinan because in January 2004
and February of 2004, in cabinet meetings we were discussing the
strategy of the campaign to make Mrs. Gloria Macapaga-Arroyo
win in the 2004 election. And in those meetings we assessed the
strength of GMA in the different areas in the Philippines and
where GMA is weak and the opponent is strong, there was a
decision to make sure that programs that would help the poor as
distributing PhilHealth cards would happen. So, the resources
that we have for programs would then be given or allocated in
areas where the assessment indicates that Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo is weak, and, therefore, the delivery of these programs
would accelerate her chances of winning. This is the reason I
went to Pangasinan.
ATTY. NERI COLMENARES: Let me clarify, official cabinet meetings were
held to discuss personal affairs of President Gloria Macapagal-
Arroyo, in this case, the electoral campaign of where she is weak
or strong, can you clarify that information, Madam Witness.
MS. DINKY SOLIMAN: Yes, there were cabinet meetings that were held
in January and February to discuss the campaign strategy to
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