Virgilio Olivar Garcillano (born ''c.''1948) also known as ''Garci'', is a former official of the Philippine

Commission on Elections An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

who allegedly was involved in

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...

's alleged

electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

in the

Hello Garci scandal The Hello Garci scandal (or just Hello Garci), also known as Gloriagate, was a political scandal and electoral crisis in the Philippines. The scandal involved former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who allegedly rigged the 2004 national el ...

. Garcillano was missing as he is suspected to be in hiding, initially abroad but recently in the country. Some sources stated that he was seen leaving the Philippines for Kota Kinabalu,

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

. Other sources also stated that Garcillano was seen boarding a jet en route to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. Garcillano also momentarily was seen in Surigao City, particularly in a beach resort under heavy guard. An arrest warrant was issued to his last known address in

Cagayan de Oro City Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan ( ilo, Probinsia ti Cagayan; ibg, Provinsiya na Cagayan; itv, Provinsiya ya Cagayan; fil, Lalawigan ng Cagayan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region, covering ...

but his father-in-law refused to sign it, but it was considered served. The

Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police ( fil, Pambansang Pulisya ng Pilipinas, acronymed as PNP) is the armed national police force in the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Currentl ...

and National Bureau of Investigation were requested by the

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

to locate Garcillano to respond to allegations in Congress. Independent sources confirmed that Virgilio Garcillano took a flight from Subic last July 14, to

, contrary to denials by Philippine authorities. He spent a night in

, and then flew for

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The management of the Bureau of Immigration, Air Transportation Office, and other government agencies were blamed for the escape of Garcillano. Garcillano was believed to have returned in the Philippines through

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

via a motorized boat on November 20. He appeared before media on November 26. He issued statements denying election rigging and admitted that he called the President. He also denied that he ever left the Philippines and having a biological relationship with Michaelangelo Zuce, an opposition witness. In December 2006, Garcillano was cleared of perjury charges by the Department of Justice. He ran for Representative of the First Congressional District of Bukidnon in the 2007 Philippine Midterm elections in May but he lost to Candido Pancrudo, Jr. of Lakas-CMD. Garcillano resides in

Baungon Baungon, officially the Municipality of Baungon ( Bukid and Higaonon: Banuwa ta Baungon; ceb, Lungsod sa Baungon; tl, Bayan ng Baungon), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Bukidnon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has ...

and Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.

Doble Controversy

An insider of Smart Communications worked with the ISAFP (Intelligence Service, Armed Forces of the Philippines) in wiretapping political leaders during the 2004 elections, and Smart admitted it was possible that an employee coordinated with ISAFP. Vidal Doble said two of his former superiors at the "''Project Lighthouse''" operation – Col. Paul Sumayo and Capt. Frederick Rebong – "''coordinated''" with a "''recruit''" and contact inside Smart. Ramon Isberto of Smart, said - "''This first came out two to three years ago. The company has not participated in any efforts to monitor conversations.''" Speechless wiretappers: Doble said he and everybody else involved in "Project Lighthouse" were shocked to hear President

speak with former Virgilio Garcillano about the rigging of poll results. Doble said "Project Lighthouse" had 14 members divided into four teams - "''All of the teams knew about the conversation of PGMA (Arroyo) and commissioner Garcillano''." Doble revealed those who gave the order to launch "Project Lighthouse": Western Command (Wescom) chief Vice Admiral Tirso Danga, former deputy chief of staff for intelligence; Brigadier Gen. Marlou Quevedo, former ISAFP chief; Army Col. Allen Capuyan, former head of the ISAFP's special operations group; and "''down the line''" the project "''group commander''" Col. Sumayo; Capt. Rebong; and Capt. Lindsay Rex Sagge.

Injunction

On September 6, 2007, retired Philippine Court of Appeals

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

s Santiago Ranada and Oswaldo Agcaoili filed (a 15-page petition for

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholi ...

with temporary restraining order or

preliminary injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in p ...

) with the

Supreme Court of the Philippines The Supreme Court ( fil, Kataas-taasang Hukuman; colloquially referred to as the ''Korte Suprema'' lso used in formal writing is the highest court in the Philippines. The Supreme Court was established by the Second Philippine Commission on J ...

to enjoin the September 7, 2007

Senate of the Philippines The Senate of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Senado ng Pilipinas'', also ''Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas'' or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines with the House of Representatives ...

(committee on national defense) wiretap probe (on the alleged wiretapping of telephone conversations of President

and former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano ''inter alia'').

Health problems

On September 12, 2007, Garcillano was released from the Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center in the Sta. Cruz,

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

after a

biopsy A biopsy is a medical test commonly performed by a surgeon, interventional radiologist, or an interventional cardiologist. The process involves extraction of sample cells or tissues for examination to determine the presence or extent of a dise ...

due to prostate

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

. Garcillano's

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

Ed Tamondong confirmed this illness and promised that Garci will appear at the September 21

hearing.GMA NEWS.TV, Garcillano leaves Manila hospital after biopsy
/ref>

References

External links

PCIJ.org - Virgilio Garcillano

PCIJ.org - "Gloria-Garcillano" Tapes

PhilStar

Garcillano's picture

Abalos and Garcillano

Comelec image
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcillano, Virgilio 1948 births Living people Commissioners of constitutional commissions of the Philippines

Doble Controversy

Injunction

Health problems

See also

References

External links