FINAL REPORT - Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

Ruben: Hindi naman pumupunta, pero ang balita nandirito sa
Parañaque.
Gary: Nandito na yung ano....?
Ruben: Nandito na sa Parañaque nun pang Saturday.
Gary: O sige. Basta’t we’ll ask somebody to look for her and then
get her family, kung pwede.”
On August 18, 2005, Rashma Hali confirmed to the media 20 the harassment
and pressure for her not to divulge the fraudulent electoral practices employed in
Tipo-tipo, Basilan in favor of President Arroyo.
d. The Garci Tapes – of such nature and detail
that their having been fabricated is an impossibility
Then there is the fact, we note, that the three-hour Garci Tapes actually
comprise an already cumulated version of recorded data, compressed into a four-tape,
three hours worth of tape recordings covering a grand total of 152 conversations, that
occurred – a week after the 2004 elections – over a period of 33 days (from May 17 to
June 18, 2004), 21 which uniformly capture the voice of one man (Gary), who speaks to
at least 36 other, identified personalities (including officials in the highest echelons of
the military) and to some of them repeatedly, and other unidentified persons, about
variegated facets of the art of implementing electoral fraud, from the soft technique of
persuasion, to the less soft option of downright crime, like kidnapping. Of the grand
total of 152 conversations, 15 are between Code One and Gary 22 , during the period
May 26, 2004 to June 10, 2004 (or a span of 16 days).
On June 6, 2004, when he presented two audio compact discs to the media,
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye revealed that some person/s or entity/ies
fabricated tape recordings – which purport to contain wiretapped conversations
showing President Arroyo’s involvement in electoral fraud – in order to destabilize the
present administration.
To believe the explanation of Spokesman Bunye would mean to believe either of
two scenarios: that for the sole purpose of framing up President Arroyo, either – some
person/s or entity/ies fabricated President Arroyo’s voice (i.e., someone voice-acted
her) in 15 conversations out of 152, which means that the other 137 conversations are
genuine – or – they fabricated (i.e., falsely reproduced) all 152 conversations.
We think that logic and common sense easily rule out the second scenario. As
so wisely put by the sound engineer and expert Jaime Sarthou, based on his
experience of 27 years:
20
21
22
on the program “TV Patrol” of ABS-CBN, Channel 2
based on the PCIJ Garci Tapes
“The Unmaking of A President,” Sheila Coronel, PCIJ I Report Special Edition “The Queen’s Gambits,” p. 3
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