DOJ to turn over RP officials in spy case

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez is ready to turn over to US authorities a former and two incumbent government officials believed to be involved in the alleged espionage activities of cashiered police Senior Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino.

Speaking to reporters, Gonzalez said the three would be charged with acting as Aquino’s cohorts in a conspiracy to violate US laws, once they have been identified.

"These things will be revealed when (the US) opens the evidence during the indictment proceedings on Sept. 21," he said. "The documents, including the CDs, are still sealed. They will be opened on September 21. These officials who are believed to be involved are coded."

The CDs are thought to contain copies of the evidence supposedly obtained by the suspects from computers at an office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Gonzalez said that, based on highly confidential documents from Legal Attaché Jeff Cole, Aquino’s cohorts include a former and two incumbent officials.

"The Philippine government will only be dragged into this once the warrants for their (the three Philippine officials’) arrest are issued by the US Court," he said.

"Then we will be asked for their extradition. The former official number one is classified as High Level, number two is a current public official, while number three is a second High Level public official."

The Philippines is bound by an extradition treaty and the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with the US, he added.

National Bureau of Investigation Director Reynaldo Wycoco said yesterday the government would accede to any request from the United States to extradite three unnamed Filipino politicians reportedly involved in Aquino’s activities.

"It is a treaty (extradition) we have with the US so we have to honor and abide by it although there is a process we have to go through," he said.

"I think that (extradition request) will follow if and when there would be an indictment, if and when a warrant would be issued by an American judge and if as a consequence there would be a request for the extradition" of the three unnamed officials.

Speaking to reporters at Malacañang, Wycoco said Sen. Panfilo Lacson should "go to any US territory or Philippine consulate in the US to clarify matters if he feels alluded to in the FBI complaint."

Aquino was an aide of Lacson while he was Philippine National Police chief under former President Joseph Estrada.

The NBI is not concerned about the political implications of Aquino’s case as its main concern is "purely informational," he added.

On the other hand, lawyer Ricardo Diaz, NBI Interpol Division chief, said the FBI might reveal the names of the three men arrested on Sept. 22 or 23.

"The unsealing of the documents is scheduled on either September 22 or 23," he quoted an FBI official as saying. "By that time, the cat would already be out of the bag, meaning the names would be available by that time.

"Once the documents have been unsealed the names of the three officials based in the Philippines would already be made available to the public as well as the contents of the tampered documents."

Diaz said they have no idea what documents FBI intelligence analyst Leandro Aragoncillo allegedly printed or downloaded between May and Aug. 15, except that it consisted of 101 classified documents related to the Philippines.

"To determine if a document is top secret is part of their sovereignty," he said.

Gonzalez had already made an official request to Cole for copies of the documents, he added.

An FBI agent met yesterday with Wycoco and Diaz, but after the meeting, Wycoco begged off from being interviewed.

Meanwhile, Gonzalez said the government has extended legal assistance to Aquino.

"We are extending legal assistance to Michael Ray Aquino because he is a Filipino," he said.

"The Filipino consulate in New York has immediately hired a lawyer for Aquino. We always give lawyers to any Filipinos accused of crimes in the US and other countries."

Aquino’s wife seeks help

On the other hand, Lacson said yesterday Aquino’s wife, Fatima, has asked him to extend legal assistance to her husband, since the family cannot afford to pay for the services of a top-caliber lawyer.

"She told me, ‘Sir, you might have a friend who can help us,’ because they have no money to pay a lawyer," he said in Filipino.

"I started seeking the help of some friends. But US lawyers really charge a lot, you have to pay for each telephone call to them. He is really in a difficult situation.

"So it’s important that (he) gets a lawyer of his choice, not provided by the US government. He would be comfortable in explaining that, under US law, he is not guilty."

Lacson said Aquino’s case might not fall under Section 783, Title 50 on War and National Defense, chapter 23 (Internal Security) and subchapter one (Control of Subversive Activities) of the US Code, with which he is being charged.

Meanwhile, Lacson said he would ask a lawyer the extent of the US government’s jurisdiction over a Filipino who is in the Philippines.

Aquino is not considered a foreign agent, he added.

Material related to the controversial "Hello, Garci" tapes was reportedly among the information passed on to Lacson by Aquino, but the opposition senator said the material was not sensitive, since it had already appeared in Philippine newspapers and other media outfits.

"Help my brother"

A sister of Aquino asked the government yesterday to help her brother be released from jail in the US, where he is facing charges of espionage.

"My brother is still a Filipino," Dr. Jasmin Aquino said in Filipino at a press conference in Pasig City yesterday afternoon.

"He did not do anything wrong, he was just a victim. He loves the country so he was forced to leave for his peace of mind."

She said she saw her brother in September last year when she went to the US.

Holding back tears, Jasmin said her brother, a former top police official when Lacson was PNP chief, was forced to do odd jobs in the US to make a living.

Her family has yet to talk to Lacson and other groups to help in their brother’s legal problems, Jasmin said.

Filipino consul can’t see Aquino

In New York, Consul General Cecil Rebong told visiting Filipino journalists that it was not normal for US authorities to take so long in notifying a foreign government of the arrest of one of its citizens, as in the case of Aquino.

Rebong said she received from the US Attorney’s office a "notification of arrest" informing the consulate that "We (US authorities) arrested and detained Michael Ray Aquino, who we understand to be a national of your country, on September 10, 2005."

"It’s just a short notification," she said. "There are no other specifics, not even the place where Aquino is being held."

The document was signed by Assistant US Attorney Karl Buch, she added.

However, Rebong said she had learned from Felix Vinluan, Aquino’s immigration lawyer, that the former police officer was detained in a New Jersey jail.

Aquino hired Vinluan in March when he was arrested by immigration agents for overstaying after his tourist visa lapsed, she added.

Rebong said Vinluan appeared in a New Jersey court Monday when Aquino and Aragoncillo were presented before a judge, but Vinluan did not represent Aquino. The two were provided with public defenders by the court, she added.

"We are satisfied with the information we got from Attorney Vinluan that Aquino’s rights have been respected," she said.

She and her staff, along with the staff of the United Nations mission, are busy with the short visit in New York of President Arroyo, Rebong said.

It is standard procedure for diplomats to visit detained nationals to check not only on their rights, but on their condition as well.

Rebong is the Philippine diplomat who was recently at the center of a scandal after she reportedly rented an apartment for $10,000 a month at the expensive Trump Tower, just across the UN headquarters, courtesy of Filipino taxpayers.

On the other hand, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye told reporters at the Philippine Mission in New York that Mrs. Arroyo would not be distracted by the case against Aquino.

"Let me just put it this way. The Michael Ray Aquino case is something between him and the US," he said.

"It is alleged that he broke some of the laws of the US, and he will have to answer for that, and as a Filipino citizen, the Philippine government is committed to provide him with all the legal assistance that is necessary and appropriate under the circumstances."

Bunye said Aquino’s case did not overshadow the arrival of Mrs. Arroyo who is attending the UN General Assembly to preside over the Security Council, which is being chaired by the Philippines this month. –Jose Rodel Clapano, Christina Mendez, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Evelyn Macairan, Paolo Romero, Jess Diaz and Pia Lee-Brago in New York