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Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Congressmen hit military spying on House probe
MEMBERS of the House committee on human rights, including allies of the administration, lambasted the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for spying on the inquiry on the extrajudicial killings.
Committee chairman Bienvenido Abante (Manila) said he would not hesitate to charge with contempt the officials of the AFP for sending intelligence agents at the hearing to spy on them during the hearing.
What made members of the committee more enraged was when AFP officials including the now retired Major General Jovito Palparan snubbed anew requests of the committee to testify before the body.
"Malapit-lapit na namin silang i-contempt (we are about to cite them in contempt)," Abante said. "They did not appear in today's (Monday's) hearing and yet they have managed to send their agents just to spy on us while holding this hearing," he added.
Abante said the next time the AFP officials snub them, the committee will definitely issue a subpoena that would compel them to appear before the committee.
Aside from Palparan, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon, Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Nestor Mantaring also snubbed the hearing.
Cruz invoked Memorandum Circular (MC) 108 that sets guidelines for appearances in congressional hearings under Executive Order 464, a part of which was earlier declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court (SC) while the others have reportedly asked that they be given more time to prepare before they finally face the body.
During the hearing, one of the committee's staffers noticed a man with a video camera taking footage of the proceedings. Since the staffer was familiar with the faces of journalists covering the hearing, he immediately asked the person to sign the attendance sheet and found out that he is a member of the AFP's Civil Relations Service of the AFP.
The staff immediately informed Abante of the presence of AFP personnel identified as Sergeant Julius Seriosa. Seriosa was accompanied by Sergeant Cerilo Calaycay.
Abante then ordered the video film confiscated and the two AFP persons held for questioning.
Seriosa told congressmen he was merely carrying out orders from his "commanding officers" to tape the entire proceeding. He did not mention though who his "commanding officers" were.
Calaycay, on the other hand, was ushered out of the hearing after he failed to answer queries from the congressmen about his media affiliation.
Party-list Representatives Satur Ocampo and Joel Virador, both of Bayan Muna, and Rafael Mariano (Anakpawis) also criticized the AFP for deliberately insulting the House when it sent spies for monitoring the proceeding.
"Instead of sending officers of the AFP in our investigations, they spent spies. This means that the AFP's conduct of surveillance and intimidation of witnesses of the extrajudicial killings extends to the halls of Congress," Mariano said.
Ocampo, for his part, expressed fear that the monitoring was made for them to know more those who openly condemn the AFP.
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces on Monday denied that Seriosa and Calaycay were spying on the House inquiry.
Sergeants Cerilo Calaycay and Julius Seriosa, are members of the military's Civil Relations Service (CRS), according to AFP public information office chief Bartolome Bacarro.
Quoting CRS commanding general Commodore Amable Tolentino, Bacarro said the two soldiers are mere photographers and cameramen sent by the CRS to tape the testimonies of military witnesses present in the inquiry.
"They are not intelligence operatives, they are mere photographers and cameramen. They are not from Isafp. They were not there to monitor but to tape the testimonies of military witnesses," said Bacarro of the two soldiers.
Asked who are the military witnesses whom the two CRS photographers and cameramen were to tape, Bacarro identified one of them as Zacarias Piedad, one of the military's witnesses against the communist movement's alleged purge in Leyte.
Piedad has said he has stumbled upon a document signed by three CPP leaders, including communist party founder Jose Ma. Sison, NDF chief negotiator Luis Jalandoni and Representative Ocampo in the 1980s ordering the purge.
Late last month, troops from the Army's 8th Infantry Division (ID) dug up in a shallow grave in Inopacan, Leyte over 70 skeletal remains of civilians and NPA rebels who were executed by the communist movement on suspiciona they were deep penetration agents (DPAs) of the military.
Bacarro said Tolentino has already explained to 6th District Representative Bienvenido Abante of Manila why the two CRS personnel are at the House inquiry. "It was agreed upon that the two men would be released (from House custody)," said Bacarro. (DBP/VR/Sunnex)
(September 12, 2006 issue)
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