Apology in a can of worms
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s apology raises more questions than it answers. Tonight, after three weeks of silence, she admitted calling a Comelec official before and during the canvassing of the results of last year’s elections. She apologized for this “lapse in judgment” and insisted that her actions were meant “not to influence the outcome of the election” but merely to protect her vote.
Mrs. Arroyo admitted to an impropriety, and asked Filipinos that she be allowed “to close this chapter and move on with the business of governing.”
This statement is a gamble. For sure, the President did not admit to conspiring to rig the vote. But her carefully worded apology in effect confirmed that the conversation or conversations with an unnamed Comelec official, presumably Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, took place. (more…)
