ZAMBOANGA CITY, 5 December 2005 — Virgilio Garcillano, a former poll commissioner at the center of vote-rigging charges against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, surfaced yesterday in the southern province of Maguindanao and agreed to face investigation in Congress.

With escorts armed with AK-47s, Garcillano got out of a speed boat in the coastal town of Datu Odin Sinsuat, where he was met by a group of supporters and police agents wearing color tags.

He then signed an invitation brought by a congressional official asking him to appear on Wednesday before five House of Representatives committees investigating the poll fraud charges.

“As promised, I’ll come out, I’m not hiding anything,” he told reporters.

He then took a commercial flight to Manila, accompanied by a throng of journalists. He was met at the airport in Manila by security men, who struggled to shield him from TV cameras and photographers and then took him by car to a police camp.

The separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) earlier said that Garcillano was hiding in Maguindanao province after he first surfaced last week and held a clandestine interview with reporters near a rebel base.

Other sources said he hid in Lanao del Norte province, near Maguindanao and was coddled by an influential politician.

Garcillano yesterday claimed that he went into hiding for fear of his life after the opposition accused him of fraud.

He went missing in June when the opposition circulated wire-tapped tapes of his phone conversations with the Arroyo on how to ensure her victory in the May 2004 election.

Arroyo’s “Hello Garci” calls had become a household word and even used as cellular phone ring tones by many Filipinos, including those in Saudi Arabia, to symbolize their disgust over the alleged cheating.

Garcillano yesterday admitted speaking to the president in last year’s polls, but he strongly denied charges that he rigged elections to make Arroyo win.

He said he is willing to face any inquiry to deny all the charges and clear his name and that of Arroyo.

“I tell you and I swear that there was no such thing as rigging of last year’s of elections,” he said.

At the height of the controversy last June and faced with threats of revolt by her Cabinet officials, Arroyo apologized to the public for a “lapse in judgment” by talking with a poll official.

Critics say Arroyo act of merely calling an election official was a violation of the law since her action could exert pressure on the official and violate the poll commission’s independence.

But she insisted that she won the election “fair and square.” Her allies led by House Speaker Jose de Venecia later defeated impeachment charges against her that stemmed from the wiretapped conversations.

Garcillano’s lawyer Eddie Tamondong said many people have accused the former poll official, but no formal charges have been filed in courts.

“They unjustly accused Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano of a lot of things, yet no formal charges were filed in court against him, and now, it is our time to file charges against all those who defamed him,” Tamondong said.

Critics said Garcillano must be made to explain his statement on TV that he never left the country, contrary to previous statements by the Department of Foreign Affairs, which reported that Garcillano did fly to Singapore from Manila in July.

The DFA was quoting a report then by the government of Singapore, which said Garcillano arrived there on a Subic Air Lear Jet on July 10 and left the following day for London.

Former senator Francisco Tatad said Garcillano fled to Singapore and has only returned last month through the southern backdoor from Kota Kinabalu district in Malaysia.

He said Garcilano was spotted on Nov. 23 in the Zamboanga Sibugay province with Jose Miguel Arroyo, the president’s husband, and several politicians and poll officials.

But police and military officials have denied the former poll official was there.

The president’s husband also denied the allegation and called on the opposition to stop peddling lies.

Arroyo’s supporters say Garcillano’s return could provide closure to the fraud allegations that have spun into a monthslong political crisis. Opposition politicians said they expect Garcillano to lie to avoid implicating himself and Arroyo.

Despite the defeat of an opposition move to impeach her, protests against Arroyo have continued. Coup rumors are also still circulating.

Arroyo has rejected opposition calls to resign or hold fresh elections, saying such proposals were meant to destabilize her government and bring her opponents to power. She has also appeared to have junked a deal she made with former President Fidel Ramos and Speaker de Venecia that she would step down next year to pave the way for a parliamentary form of government.

Ramos and de Venecia came to the rescue of Arroyo in July on the day she was about to vacate Malacañang Palace as 10 of her key officials resigned at the same time that Senate President Franklin Drilon’s Liberal Party and former President Corazon Aquino withdrew their support for Arroyo. (Additional input from agencies)