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Friday, June 24, 2005
Probe agency head: Difficult to validate tapes
MANILA -- National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Reynaldo Wycoco said Thursday his agency has limited capability to determine if the voices in an audiotape belonged to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and a former election official.
Wycoco said during the third day of the House inquiry that the NBI lacks the resources and manpower to authenticate if it was really Arroyo and former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano talking about rigging the 2004 polls in the tape.
If those who possess "original" copies of the tapes would submit these to the investigation agency, Wycoco said they could proceed with the investigation.
Those who claimed they have "genuine" copies of the audiotapes were Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, also Arroyo's spokesman, former NBI deputy director Samuel Ong, former President Joseph Estrada's lawyer Allan Paguia, and former senator Francisco Tatad.
Wycoco declared as tampered the two compact discs (CDs) given to him by the press secretary.
"As of this time, we still don't know which version of the tapes is original. We need to find the original tape before we can investigate further," said Wycoco.
He said those in the tapes should complain that their conversations were recorded and even the person who taped them should be identified first before the NBI could proceed with authenticating the original audiotape.
House Minority Leader Francisco Escudero asked Wycoco to provide the investigating committees with NBI's findings as to the authenticity of Bunye's CDs.
Wycoco promised to submit the initial result of the NBI investigation on Monday.
Prior to the formal House investigation on the wiretapping controversy, Pateros-Taguig Representative Allan Peter Cayetano asked for the video and audio copies of Bunye's press conference in Malacañang when he released in public two CDs containing President Arroyo's alleged controversial chat with Garcillano.
Cayetano said the video and audiotapes of Bunye's press conference are important to the congressmen and to the public to determine if the press secretary was lying to the committees or to the members of the Malacañang Press Corps.
An argument ensued among the members of the committee when Muntinlupa City Representative Rufino Biazon asked the NBI chief if he could recognize the voice of President Arroyo on the audiotapes.
The administration congressmen objected to letting Wycoco reply to Biazon's query.
Quezon City Representative Maite Defensor said Biazon's query tackles the contents of the CDs and not to the source of the materials as earlier agreed upon by members of the committees.
Negros Oriental Representative Jacinto Paras said Wycoco should respond to the question because it was the same query he answered in an earlier media interview.
The lead chair of the committees, Cavite Representative Gilbert Remulla, allowed Biazon's question as it was just a question of impression.
Ilocos Sur Representative Salacnib Baterina asked the chairmen of the committee to stop their members from issuing statements of judgment in questioning the NBI chief.
Baterina insisted that the Constitutional rights of Wycoco should be respected, considering that he is just one of the resource persons in the wiretapping investigation and not a person being prosecuted for a certain crime.
Cayetano criticized some administration congressmen for allegedly "lawyering" for the NBI director.
He said members of the committee should allow Wycoco to answer the queries by himself because he has a lawyer with him to guide him in his response. He said every member of the committee knows Wycoco has the right to be protected in the hearing, including the right to reply or not to reply to questions.
"The NBI director can invoke all his rights in the proceedings. Nobody can contest it," he said.
Also in the hearing, Wycoco echoed the press secretary's sentiments that the wiretapping controversy was part of a destabilization plot against the Arroyo government.
He said the appearance of Ong shortly after self-confessed jueteng bagwoman Sandra Cam, who is one of the resource persons in the Senate jueteng inquiry, came out with her accusations could not be a coincidence. He revealed that Ong and Cam know each other since 1999.
Wycoco also believes that there is also a group funding the distribution of the CDs in crowded areas nationwide.
The next hearing has been set for Wednesday and will run for three days. (JFF/Sunnex)
(June 24, 2005 issue)
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