Goodbye Garci?

VIRGILIO Garcillano, the elections commissioner whose alleged wiretapped conversations with Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo almost brought down her presidency in 2005, has conceded defeat in the congressional race of the first district of Bukidnon.

“As of 10 p.m. last night, I already knew that I will lose,” Garcillano told ABS-CBN. The former poll official based his decision on his own monitoring team’s report which saw him trailing Liberal Party candidate Ma. Lourdes ‘Malou’ Acosta in the count.

The 38-year old Acosta is the sister of outgoing Rep. J.R. Nereus ‘Neric’ Acosta, who served as congressman of the province’s first district for three consecutive terms. (Neric Acosta himself has conceded to incumbent Governor Jose Zubiri in the gubernatorial contest.)

But it is not sure who Garcillano is conceding to as the outcome is still unclear especially with the counting of votes slowing down in at least seven Bukidnon towns. And while Malou Acosta is currently leading in unofficial counts, a third congressional candidate, Candido Pancrudo of Lakas-CMD, is not far behind.

The Black and White Movement, which had Garcillano among its blacklisted congressional candidates, said it is treating the former poll commissioner’s recent announcement with “guarded optimism.”

“What I heard on TV is that he was willing to concede,” says Leah Navarro, Black and White convenor. “But he’s known to be a wily coyote. We won’t trust this unless all the ballots have been counted and all threats of dagdag-bawas operations have been discounted.”

Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. was also suspicious, saying Garcillano’s concession of his defeat is “not a sign of sportsmanship but an offer of his availability to work for Team Unity candidates by fair means or foul, which is his expertise.”

Groups like TXTPower welcomed the electoral loss of Garcillano as a “just political punishment, handed down by people from his very town, for (his) criminal involvement in the 2004 elections.”

“He shamed the people of Bukidnon and caused a lingering national scandal. He deserves to lose and to be rejected by his own people,” said Anthony Ian Cruz, president of the mobile activist group that made the “Hello, Garci” ringtone an immensely popular sign of protest over allegations of massive and systematic fraud in the 2004 elections.