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Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Opposition pols destroying Pinoy image abroad
MINDANAO Affairs Secretary Jesus Dureza strongly criticized politicians who benefited from the espionage activities of Leandro Aragoncillo for destroying the integrity of Filipinos in the United States of America.
Dureza said Monday that he received text messages from his friends in America about the damaging effect of the espionage case against Philippine-born Aragoncillo who was once aide to several high-ranking US officials.
"The Aragoncillo incident and his link-up with our local politicians in Manila have hurt not only our diplomatic relations and the good relations with the US but our Filipinos working in the US," Dureza said in Monday's Kapehan sa Dabaw here.
Dureza said politicians who benefited from Aragoncillo's spying ought to be ashamed of themselves for destroying the image of the Filipinos abroad.
"We can see that some politicians go beyond limits at the expense of other Filipinos. They have shamed the nation. Filipinos are well respected abroad but ngayon kinakantyawan na daw ang mga Pinoy sa America dahil sa Aragoncillo incident," Dureza said.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Monday also demanded an apology from opposition politicians who allegedly received classified US government documents stolen from the White House and FBI.
Aragoncillo, 46, who worked at the White House for almost three years before leaving to take a job with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), allegedly gave Filipino politicians documents stolen from US Vice President Dick Cheney's office.
A naturalized US citizen, Aragoncillo was arrested in New Jersey last month along with a former police official, Michael Ray Aquino, who is also accused of downloading more than 100 classified documents from FBI computers.
Aquino, who is connected to opposition lawmakers, has been indicted on charges of conspiracy and acting as an unregistered foreign agent.
Arroyo charged that the documents were part of an opposition plot to launch a coup attempt against her.
The President survived an impeachment complaint last month when her allies in the legislature dismissed charges that she stole last year's presidential election.
Several opposition politicians, including detained former President Joseph Estrada, have all acknowledged receiving information from Aquino.
But they all denied that they received classified US data. (BOT/BRQ)
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (October 11, 2005 issue)
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