Philippine general defies Arroyo ban

Brigadier General Francisco Gudani, formerly a Marine chief in the southern region of Mindanao, said he saw vote-buying and other irregularities aimed at securing Arroyo's election victory.

"This is the only place where I saw cheating from start to end," he said of the province of Lanao del Sur where Arroyo won.

"They were herding voters from other towns," to polling centers while politicians handed out money to buy votes, Gudani said.

He also told the hearing into alleged wiretapping of the president that an unnamed friend of his had helped Arroyo's husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, in personally delivering bundles of money.

He said he was told that an estimated $8.83m was sent to Mindanao for vote-buying. However, he did not identify his source.

Lawyer Jesus Santos, a spokesman for Arroyo's husband, who is overseas, denied the general's accusations and hit back at Gudani in a statement, saying the general was spreading falsehood and "black propaganda".

He accused Gudani of being a longtime supporter of opposition figures and of resorting to hearsay.