A tale of two tapes - 3

There is something odd here. If Arroyo’s “victory” came through the manipulation of the Visayan votes, why are the tapes talking about Lanao and Magindanao towns? If you check old COMELEC reports as far back as 1957, these are the same areas where massive cheating used to happen (thus the story about the dead rising up in the Lanao del Sur communities on election day to vote; and of butterflies and birds adding their votes too to the tally). And would these towns have enough “votes” to alter the “results”? My bigger worry here as a Mindanawan is the attempt by both ruling party and the opposition to once more use the Mindanao bogey — i.e., the Mindanao as a ruthless area teeming with opportunists and killers. But if we are to believe the analyses of the 2004 polls, including made by our highly-esteemed PCIJ journalists, it was in Cebu where the cheating happened, not in “turbulent” Mindanao.

[...] ust have heard about those controversial tapes already. Transcripts are available at the PCIJ blog while INQ7 has just posted downloadable copies in MP3 format. And since this whole thing is about the [...]

Well the Cheating in Cebu was not enough to give Arroyo the lead. Thats why FPJ’s party already conceded Cebu. But Mindanao is FPJ country and this is where GMA’s skunk crew got to work

[...] during presidential elections here. If you’d rather read the transcript, it’s here. Whether or not the audio recordings were manipulated or spliced or whatever, I still personally don’t [...]

Noted Rich: but Magindanao and Lanao? One could very well cheat in Barbers country or, just to make sure that no particular town will be pinpointed as the main “source” of fraud, a skilled operator would spread the fraud around. But the odd thing about these tapes — original and spliced — is that they were purposely centered on these areas known always for electoral fraud in the past. That would mean, say in the case of Lanao, seeking the assistance of the Dimaporos. But I doubt if the late Ali’s family is still that potent now.

please visit Finance Manila at
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and cast your votes as to which tape you think are real

Can I venture an explanation for the apparent skewedness toward Mindanao? The most obvious reason is that Garcillano is the Comelec official in charge of Mindanao and is himself a Mindanawan. He was therefore being asked only about Mindanao matters. It’s possible there were similar conversations about other places, but then those weren’t taped (at least as far as we know).

If Senator Pimentel is to be believed, Garcillano was also responsible for the “dagdag-bawas” operation against him in the 1990s. This is not to say that the cheating, if it indeed took place (covering my journalistic ass here), was confined to Mindanao. As has been previously reported, Cebu was a cheating hotspot. Traditionally, the cheating takes place where the candidates are strong, so the vote padding will not be obvious. But as we have seen in previous elections–the PImentel case has the most graphic data on this–dagdag-bawas takes place across the country, with Mindanao as the final back up, because the Mindanao votes are counted last, so the “balance” to ensure the cheating margin sometimes comes from the “stereotyped” provinces of Lanao and Tawi-Tawi. This is not to say the biggest cheating takes place there, what does are mainly the last-minute operations. Remember these conversations were taking place two weeks or more after the elections, when many of the returns from elsewhere had already been counted.

What is apparent here, if indeed the “spliced” tape is real, is that the President and her husband were micro-managing the count, going town by town, province by province.

Thanks for the insight Sheila. I missed out on the fact that Mindanao votes come in last, and if you are someone unsure of whether you can win, you go to those places where you are assured that the “votes” go you. If one were to conduct a map of the cheating through time (either from the day of the voting to the counting; or comparatively across elections), your explanation can be further empirically substantiated. A next PCIJ project, perhaps?

GMA is podcasting

No, not really.

But it’s all over the local news these days:
wiretapped conversations by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and
several pepole, where discussions on electoral fraud (during the 2004
national…

Hearing both mp3s already, I’ve noticed that the “altered” versions have a more consistent background noise to it that cuts across both parties talking on the line; something that is MORE believable if your taking taking into consideration a scenario where you are tapping on wireless communications.

I’m so sad for the alleged “experts” in NBI who have supposedly analyzed the recordings that they failed to recognize this fact, since the aforementioned characteristic is something very much obvious to a common telecommunications professional.

The first time my sister and I heard the tape, we laughed. The tape was obviously “doctored”. In this digital age, darlings, anybody can alter audio or video tapes. You only have to use the audio/ video software editor sold in your friendly neighborhood computer shop. I even have my own software for home productions (it’s a hobby, darlings).

Considering that tapes are vulnerable to alterations, it shouldn’t even be used to convince anyone and shouldn’t be admissible in court as evidence of someone’s wrongdoing.

What this issue is telling my 20 year old out of school ass is that no matter how much they try to uphold the phrase “Every vote counts”, we will never be able to take part in a decent election. Never.

I have learned that there will always be a blueprint, a map, a plan, a strategy for cheating the Presidential Elections, and the winner will be decided on who comes up with a better tactic. See, that requires intelligence and meticulous military-like planning after all. The government in its best.

I have no love for the administration, but to say that the opposition doesn’t have a blueprint of their own is hypocrisy. Cheating will always be there. It has evolved through decades of elections, passed on to generations and will be the flag of every Presidential candidate.

Don’t tell the youth that every vote counts. It doesn’t. Not anymore. We dont need a President who can change the country if he/she wins. We need a President who can change the country even if he/she loses.

There will always be background noise. There will always be static. Stagnant distortions of reality, confusing and altering the underlying message. It’s sad that we have to dig deeper just to decipher the sense of it.

[...] Ordinary MP3s The Scandal What really amuses me about this whole voice recording scandal is that it is teeming with booboos from the very start. Press Sec. Ignacio Bunye denying [...]

Cheating or no cheating , in the end we are all VICTIMS in a political abyss.our government today is nothing but a shameful mess and the garbage is still accumulating. We dont need another EDSA to justify things,Why not Mrs. Aroyo resigns amidst all of these allegations. Shje has no shame at all, in the end she will subside, its only a matter of time. Rumors are half truths and she has been into a lot of trouble since she became president. From Jueteng Queen , vote buying, political manipulation, and cartel…People are blind nowadays, what a shame, its a jungle out there and every one want to take their share and others as well.We have been raped all over again, In a few weeks the truth will prevail. The news today has a price , but tomorrow its free, so lets just wait and see……

Some sectors want the president to resign. Others call for her impeachment. And then there those who want to oust her through extra-judicial means.

There’s one thing lacking in the picture though: A BETTER ALTERNATIVE.

Before taking that extra step towards carrying out change, critics must first present a better alternative to the public.

the question on my mind is this: why release this recording only now? obviously, whoever managed to record these conversations had them over a year ago. at the height of the allegations of cheating left and right during the counting and the weeks after that, not one peep was heard. wouldn’t it have been better to release this “smoking gun” then, before GMA was proclaimed? that, to me, would have been a more “untainted” motive. watching from the sidelines of this political freak show, and seeing the series of unsubstantiated and/or unverified villifications directed at both sides of the political fence makes me sick to my stomach. no wonder we never seem to dig ourselves out of our perpetual state of helplessness

Why now?

Here is my opinion….

I think the original tape really came from Malacanang. ISAF always monitor every conversation of PGMA for security reason. However, someone from inside (not loyal to PGMA) spill the beans. This is why the head of ISAF was axed (command responsibility).

IT’S A WRONG MISTAKE . . . HUH ! ! !

Why now?

Here is my opinion.

I think the original tape really came from Malacanang. ISAF always monitor every conversation of PGMA for security reason. However, someone from inside (not loyal to PGMA) spill the beans. This is why the head of ISAF was axed (command responsibility).

Guys, if you examine the transcript, I think it is not GMA that is being tapped but “Gary”. He is always in all conversations - unless GMA, Mike, and Barbers share the same “tapped” phone.

My GUESS IS RIGHT!…..

kooljoe_03 said,
June 9, 2005 @ 2:27 pm

Why now?

Here is my opinion….

I think the original tape really came from Malacanang. ISAF always monitor every conversation of PGMA for security reason. However, someone from inside (not loyal to PGMA) spill the beans. This is why the head of ISAF was axed (command responsibility).

IT’S A WRONG MISTAKE . . . HUH ! ! !

[...] rroyo. Kung ang Juetengate 2 ay nag-uugnay sa eskandalo sa mga kamag-anak ng Pangulo, ang master tape na nasa balita ngayong araw ay tumutukoy kay Gng. Arroyo mismo. Lumutang kanina si Atty. Samuel Ong, [...]

For a better alternative to GMA, how about Bro. EDDIE VILLANUEVA?

It is sad to hear people accusing the Cebuanos as the ones who cheated during the 2004 elections. The other Filipino voters should know that PGMA knows her mathematics. All the strong contenders for the highest positions in the province and in the city were supporting her. Like for instance, the candidates for governor, Gwen Garcia, John-John Osmena and Junnie Martinez were all supporting Arroyo. So who do you think will win as president in Cebu…but of course, their candidate PGMA.

I do believe that there are no clean elections since then, cheating always happen. Only the President knows if the allegations about her on rigging the 2004 elections are true. But the fact is, our country is facing huge economic problems that need to be solve by now or as soon as possible. I guess it’s not the right time to tackle this newest issue because there are past issues that we haven’t solved yet and there are even more things that we and the government could do to bring up our dying economy. What we should do is help the President to solve these problems rather than letting ourselves be involved in another useless issues that would make our country’s stand worse! I have faith in our President because she’s intelligent and smart and I think she deserves the position she has now. If it’s true that she really rigged the elections then I think it’s time for her to repay what she did and that’s solving the Philippines’ problems because that’s her responsibility. And for the other politicians worthy or non-worthy, PLEASE DO YOUR JOB! The government is for the people, you are all under the people. We elected you because you have the potentials to serve us. Let’s not reverse the ways, YOU SHOULD SERVE YOUR PEOPLE, DON’T LET YOUR PEOPLE SERVE YOU BECAUSE THAT’S THE WAY IT SHOULD BE! You know what’s the main concern here now? There’s too much politics that’s why we can’t solve even the smallest dilemmas in our own barangays!

Is 40% of the philippine polulation living in Cebu? If not then the president is really guilty of cheating!

unang una po di po ako bumuboto sa kahit anong eleksyon magmula taong 1992.dahil doon ko po naranasan bilang kabataan na tanggalan ng karapatan.mag mula noon naging tagamasid na lang ako sa politika ng bansa.sa pagkaka alam ko po meron po yatang eleksyon tayo na malinis na kahit anong daya at palusot kahit anong makinarya at salapi ay di nila nagawang dayain.ito ay ang pampanguluhang eleksyon taong 1998.nagwagi po si dating pangulong Estrada ng “landslide” kung tawagin sa english.kaya di na nagawang mag sampa ng mga protesta ang kanyang mga katunggali.dahil sya talaga ang nanalo at pinili ng taong bayan.ang kaunaunahang pangulo na tinawag na majority president nanalo sa higit na 11 milyon boto.

sana po nung napagtutulungan ang dating pangulong Estrada at nais syang pabagsak o pababain ay ganyan din ang panawagan ninyo sa bayan.o dahil sya ay minamaliit..ang tao bang kapos sa pag-aaral ay kapos sa katinuan ng pag iisip.at di lubos ang pang unawa…

O tayo’y nalason sa mga balita n sya ay kurap.naisip nyo na ba ang dami ng pera at lawak pag-aari ng mga Cojuangco,ng mga Pangilinan,ng mga Barbers,ng mga Enrile,ng mga Arroyo,ang yaman ng artistang si Dolphy at ang yumaong si FPJ.Yun nga lang pong nag bebenta ng forever living products e ubod na ng yaman saglit lang nagnegosyo.Ano pa kaya si dating pangulong Erap na galing sa mayamang pamilya,dating artista,prodyuser.sana po ang mga taga PCIJ ay magkaroon din ng pag aaral sa lawak at laki at dami ng yaman ng mga Singson sa Ilocos.ang mga tagong yaman ng mga general lalo na si Gen.Garcia.yun lang po.salamat po at mayroong kagaya ninyong mga kabataan na nagtataguyod ng katotohanan at katarungan alam ko darating ang araw babangon ang ating bayang Pilipinas.

[...] OVER the weekend, we received results of an analysis done on the Bunye tapes from the same audiophile who recently analyzed the "Chavit X-Tapes." Readers may recall that Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye presented to members of the Malacañang Press Corps on June 6 two tapes — one allegedly "original" containing the voice of an Arroyo campaign operative "Gary" and another allegedly "spliced" or "altered" with the voice of Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano — in an attempt to preempt the release by the opposition of taped conversations implicating Garcillano and Pres. Arroyo to a plot to defraud the 2004 presidential elections. [...]

[...] AT DENR Secretary Michael Defensor’s press conference yesterday, I brought up the issue of the tapes that Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye presented to the Malacañang press corps last June 6 because these — both the allegedly "original/unaltered" and "spliced" versions — also contain the "yung dagdag" portion, which Defensor alleges to have been inserted in the Paguia tape. Except for the deleted utterance of the word "Namfrel" in the supposedly "unaltered" version, this portion was found to be free from splicing by an independent sound expert who shared with us his analysis of the Bunye tapes. [...]

[...] Transcript at PCIJ blog [...]

[...] [ Tape Resource 1 from PCIJ Blog ] [ Tape Resource 2 from Yugatech ] [...]

[...] Bunye made another assault on truth. Holding up the two discs, he said one was authentic and the other one doctored. Unblinking, he looked straight at TV cameras lying: “While we cannot at this time confirm the authenticity of either version, we can today confirm by virtue of these findings, another opposition plot to destabilize the administration of President Arroyo.” [...]

[...] It’s hard to imagine it’s been a mere two years since rumors began to circulate that there was a tape -a dangerous tape. Then Jove Francisco wrote When does “Hello” mean goodbye? And the PCIJ wrote The Palace and the Tape, and I wrote The “Hello” heard ’round the world, beginning a personal odyssey (see Media can’t be held liable for releasing tapes and  A happy shrewdness, Machiavelli suggests; and recall the two truncated versions of the tapes and the eventual full, three-hour version) that culminated in my online manifesto, Where I stand, on June 16, 2005. From there, it was, perhaps, inevitable that I’d decide on the course of action I proposed in Redemption, June 30, 2005,when I added my voice to those calling for the President’s resignation. [...]