Backgrounder: Excerpt from a news article on the issue
Deceiving "Apology" Proves GMA Can No Longer Govern
Posted on June 28, 2005 - 6:43pm :: Editorial
Nicanor Perlas
27 June 2005
In recent weeks, a supposedly unauthorized wiretap rocked the nation by recording a scandalous conversation between a woman and an official of the Comelec or Commission on Elections. The tapes revealed that the woman, who sounded like Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the President of the Philippines, was conspiring to bring about fraudulent election results with a commissioner of the Comelec. The Philippine Constitution mandates the Comelec to uphold clean and honest elections.
For weeks, "President" Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) refused to comment on whether she was the woman on the tape. She maintained stoic silence. Meanwhile, the protests grew louder, bigger, and more organized. Then, suddenly, last night, PGMA appeared on nationwide television and radio. She finally admitted that she was the female voice in the wiretap recordings. She also apologized for her "lapse of judgment" in calling a Comelec official under questionable circumstances. She did not, however, admit any guilt and called on the nation to forgive and join her in rebuilding the nation.
27 June 2005
In recent weeks, a supposedly unauthorized wiretap rocked the nation by recording a scandalous conversation between a woman and an official of the Comelec or Commission on Elections. The tapes revealed that the woman, who sounded like Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the President of the Philippines, was conspiring to bring about fraudulent election results with a commissioner of the Comelec. The Philippine Constitution mandates the Comelec to uphold clean and honest elections.
For weeks, "President" Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) refused to comment on whether she was the woman on the tape. She maintained stoic silence. Meanwhile, the protests grew louder, bigger, and more organized. Then, suddenly, last night, PGMA appeared on nationwide television and radio. She finally admitted that she was the female voice in the wiretap recordings. She also apologized for her "lapse of judgment" in calling a Comelec official under questionable circumstances. She did not, however, admit any guilt and called on the nation to forgive and join her in rebuilding the nation.
