FINAL REPORT - Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

and asked me to sign a receipt for it. I noticed the box was already
opened so I asked the secretary why and I was told the box was opened
because they already placed the SIM card inside the phone and that they
already got the phone number. When I delivered the cellphone to
Comm. Garcillano, he told me this phone would he where PGMA, Mr.
and Mrs. Pineda, and other prominent persons would be calling him;
the Commissioner referred to the cellphone as their Hotline.
18. As the elections were drawing near, I finalized the Budgetary
Requirements I was directed to prepare for both Comm. Garcillano and
my Boss, Sec. Joey Rufino. It took sometime to finalize because of
changes in the amount and the addition of regional attorneys. Also
revisions had to be made when Comm. Garcillano called to inform me
there was no funding from Sec. Rufino.
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21. On the day when the initial funding for the special
operations was given to Comm. Garcillano, he called me to a
condominium unit in Macapagal Blvd. and showed me a cabinet
filled with plastic wrapped bundles of money of P1,000 bills.
According to Comm. Garcillano, the money given totaled only P12
Million and this was not enough because the amount needed would
be around P25 Million to P37 Million for the special operations.
22. Comm. Garcillano then told me to inform my Boss I would be
leaving for Mindanao already. I was allowed readily by my Boss to leave
Mindanao because he wanted to monitor the situation in the local
politics there. Before I left, Comm. Garcillano gave me P500,000 —
P100,000 to be left with my family, P100,000 for my expenses in
Mindanao and P50,000 for Atty. Rabanes. He would be calling me
whom to give amounts to from the amount balance.
23. Included in my assignment was to monitor all
officials and employees of COMELEC and coordinate with the PES to
insure PGMA’s win in the area: in places where PGMA would be
losing, I was to talk to them to find ways to reduce her loss or to
add votes in her bailiwicks. In this regard, I had the help of Butch
Pakinggan who was reporting directly to Executive Secretary Romulo in
the same manner that I was reporting directly to Sec. Joey Rufino. I was
also tasked to help local candidates of PGMA in their problems with
COMELEC. There were also candidates for national office including
certain partylists, that were part of a list given to the PES but in the last
days we were directed to concentrate only on PGMA. The areas we were
assigned were the Misamis Provinces, the Lanao Provinces, Marawi City,
Cotabato City, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato, South
Cotabato and Sarangani. We were also coordinating through cellphone
with the Zamboanga Provinces, Dipolog, Sulu, Tawi Tawi, Basilan,
Zamboanga City and Pagadian.
24. Regarding the Gloriagate tape, from what I heard from the
tape, all the conversations really took place because Comm.
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