A key figure in the electoral fraud controversy around Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo turned himself to police on Sunday after staying in hiding for several months.

The move could help clarify the controversy over alleged cheating by Arroyo in the 2004 presidential election which has led to lingering political crisis in the Philippines over the past several months.

Protected by eight armed men on board a motor speeding boat, former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano arrived in a village in Mindanao, southern Philippines, to turn himself in to police authorities.

He is expected to be presented to a congressional hearing at the House of Representatives on his role in the alleged electoral fraud.

Garcillano allegedly talked with Arroyo during last year's presidential election on how to rig votes, as was recorded in a tape of conversation between him and Arroyo, which was made public in June by opponents of Arroyo as evidence of electoral fraud.

Arroyo has welcomed the decision of Garcillano to appear and " set the record straight" on the alleged cheating in the 2004 election.

"Those who have been unfairly dragging into this controversy have already suffered enough. It is but just for them to be vindicated," said Arroyo's spokesman Ignacio Bunye in a statement last week.

Garcillano will be brought to the Philippine National Police headquarters in Camp Crame in Metro Manila where he will be held temporarily until authorities determine where he will be taken.

In an interview with television two weeks ago after surfacing from hiding, Garcillano denied helping Arroyo win the election in May 2004.

Source: Xinhua