"Hello, Garci. . . . Will I win by one million votes?" is ringing on cellphones throughout the Philippines. It is the taped voice of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo talking with commissioner of elections Virgilio Garcillano, nicknamed "Garci" in May 2004 before the election results were announced. Arroyo did, in fact, win by a million votes.
After three weeks of silence on the tape scandal, Arroyo admitted on June 28 that she committed the indiscretion of talking to an election official and called it "a lapse in judgment." Such is the long history of "dagdag-bawas," a Tagalog expression for "vote padding and shaving" that is virtually a given as the ruling elite pass the presidential baton from one clan to another. Never has a person been elected to the presidency without being part of the top one percent of the Philippine ruling elite, nor without the blessing of the U.S. government. This time the U.S. is backing Arroyo, emphasizing that the "rule of law" must be followed. It is utterly terrified of another "People Power" that ousted two U.S.-backed Philippine presidents before. . . .
FULL TEXT: <http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/pugh230705.html>
Yoshie Furuhashi <http://montages.blogspot.com> <http://monthlyreview.org> <http://mrzine.org> * Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: <http://montages.blogspot.com/2005/07/mahmoud- ahmadinejads-face.html>; <http://montages.blogspot.com/2005/07/chvez- congratulates-ahmadinejad.html>; <http://montages.blogspot.com/ 2005/06/iranian-working-class-rejects.html>