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Thursday, September 15, 2005
RP to hand over 3 officials linked to spy case
MANILA -- The Philippine Government is willing to turn over three public officials tagged by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in connection with the espionage case filed against former police official Michael Ray Aquino in the US, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. said.
Gonzalez met with US legal attaché to the Philippines Jeff Cole, who furnished him confidential notes on the arrest of Aquino in Queens, New York and his friend, FBI analyst Leandro Aragoncillo, a Filipino-American, in New Jersey.
They were arrested for espionage and conspiracy in stealing 101 secret documents relating to the Philippines.
In a press briefing, Gonzalez said among those who are allegedly involved in Aquino's espionage activities include a former official and two incumbent officials.
"These things will be revealed when they (US) open the evidence during the indictment proceedings on Sept. 21. The documents, including the CDs, are still sealed. These officials who are believed to be involved are coded," he said.
Once the names of the three Philippine officials are revealed and it is proven that they are Aquino's cohorts, they will be named as co-conspirators for violation of US laws.
"The Philippine Government will only be dragged into this once the warrants for their (three Philippine officials) arrest are issued by the US court. Then we will be asked for their extradition," he said.
The Philippine Government has extended legal assistance to Aquino, although the allegation of his involvement in espionage activities in the US was highly sensitive and serious against the Philippine Government.
"The Philippine consulate in New York has immediately hired a lawyer for Aquino. We always give lawyers to any Filipino accused of crimes in the US and other countries," Gonzalez said, noting that the Philippines is bound by the extradition treaty and the mutual legal assistance treaty with the US Government.
Under US rules, espionage is a non-bailable offense punishable by 10 years' imprisonment and a fine of not less than $250,000.
Earlier reports said the espionage activities of Aquino in the US are part of the current destabilization move against the Arroyo government.
Aquino was a close aide of Senator Panfilo Lacson, who served as Philippine National Police director under the Estrada administration before he ran for public office.
However, Lacson said Aquino cannot be charged with espionage because he is not a foreign agent.
Based on the information he gleaned from the Internet, Section 783 of the US Code states that a person can be charged of crime of espionage only if he is proven a foreign agent.
Lacson said the definition of a foreign agent under Section 951 of the same US code is an individual who agrees to operating within the US, subject to the direction and control of a foreign government.
One of the so-called classified information passed to him were the contents of the "Hello Garci" tapes, anomalies and corruption in the government and the recent impeachment proceedings in the House.
Lacson said he and "many others" received information passed by Aquino, but he downplayed the value of the reports, describing them as "shallow information."
"I am not sure which of the information that I and others received were considered classified, because to my recollection, the bits of information I got from him were largely news that everyone has read and heard in our local media," Lacson said in a statement.
He said the information may have been US Embassy reports to Washington on the current political situation in the Philippines.
Lacson said the FBI does not have the kind of information and this was gleaned from newspaper clippings that were compiled by the Philippine embassy here and sent to the US.
"But come to think of it, we have far more sensitive information which we can read at Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) and Newsbreak Magazine than the classified information the US is pertaining to that Michael Ray Aquino has passed on," Lacson explained.
The senator said he has called his friends abroad to help Aquino pay the attorney's fees because legal services in the US are steep.
Meanwhile, NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco said that if Lacson is intent on dragging his name in Aquino's case, he should probably go to any of the Philippine consulates in the US and explain himself.
He said Lacson could do this now or after he has been named in the case. (Sunnex)
(September 15, 2005 issue)
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