ISAFP wiretapping a non-issue since GMA won fair and square — Bunye

Malacañang remains unperturbed over the apparent breach of security in the reported wiretapping of President Arroyo.

Presidential Spokesman and Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the allegations that the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) bugged the telephone conversations of President Arroyo is a non-issue and a "minor detail" as far as Malacañang is concerned.

Bunye said the reported involvement of the ISAFP in the wiretapping controversy is still the subject of inquiry by Congress.

He said the investigations in the Senate and in the House of Representatives are still focused on the allegations that the President cheated in the May 2004 elections.

"The bottom line for Malacañang is the question of whether the President won in the elections… and that important question has been answered," Bunye said over the interview with Radio Mindanao Network.

"That’s why the sum total of all these different investigations in Congress, in the Senate, the sum total of (all of) these is the President won in the last elections," he said.

Bunye earlier said Malacañang saw no need to order an investigation into the allegations made by Marieta Santos, the principal witness in the Senate who claimed her lover, Air Force T/Sgt. Vidal Doble, led ISAFP agents in wiretapping the President.

He claimed Mrs. Arroyo herself is not even bothered by allegations that her phone was wiretapped by a key intelligence agency of the government.

Bunye refused to comment on the claims made by Santos since the allegations were made in a Senate inquiry.

He said the concerned authorities should properly investigate Santos’ testimony before the Senate since it is still presumed to be hearsay.

Santos testified before a Senate inquiry on Thursday that her boyfriend led an eight-man team from ISAFP to wiretap the conversations between the President and former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

Santos claimed she learned about the wiretapping operation since she would often visit Doble at the ISAFP headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

She claimed to have seen the so-called "blue room" at the ISAFP where the alleged wiretapping operation took place.

Bunye himself initially revealed the existence of a wiretap operation against the President, a day before the issue broke out last June.

He even presented two copies of the wiretap recordings in CD format and stated before reporters that the act constituted a serious breach of security.

The wiretapping issue became the eye of a political storm that nearly swept the President out of office after assuming power in January 2001.

Six months after the issue was first the subject of congressional investigation, Bunye said many issues have been raised in the course of the probe.

He said the ongoing congressional debates over the issue would seen be resolved and would not change "the view of the President that she won in the last elections and that she did not cheat to win."

Bunye branded the reported ISAFP involvement as part of the "minor details" raised in connection with allegations of electoral fraud "that have to be resolved by the investigating bodies."

Hiding behind the wall

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), meanwhile, challenged Santos to prove her allegations that the ISAFP tapped phone conversations between the President and the former election official.

AFP Public Information Office chief Col. Tristan Kison said the burden of proof of any wrongdoing does not fall on the military but on its accusers.

Kison stressed Santos should substantiate her allegations before the courts.

The challenge to Santos came even as the AFP failed to lift a finger to reprimand Doble over the alleged wiretapping activities against the President.

AFP chief Gen. Generoso Senga said Doble is now under custody of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on the complaint that he was illegally detained and forced to admit the activities that led to the production of the "Hello, Garci" wiretap recordings.

Doble had accused former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) deputy director Samuel Ong of, among other charges, illegal detention.

Senga admitted, though, that no case had been filed against Doble nor was he subjected to any military investigation.

He stressed the PNP has the jurisdiction to investigate criminal offenses, even those involving members of the Armed Forces.

Lawmakers, however, noted the AFP is trying to evade the issue over Doble.

Senate President Franklin Drilon led the lawmakers in announcing their plans to grill Senga and other military officials on the wiretapping issue next Wednesday.

The AFP, however, announced yesterday its plans to invoke Executive Order 464 against appearing before the Senate inquiry.

The controversial EO, which is now the subject of a petition before the Supreme Court, prohibits government officials and members of the AFP from testifying before any congressional inquiry without approval from the President.

Kison said the military leadership would only allow Doble to testify in the Senate if he receives clearance from Malacañang.

"No military personnel will appear (in the Senate) without a permit from the chain of command," Kison said.

Kison reiterated the stand of the AFP top brass that accusations against them should be submitted to the proper forum.

He said the AFP allowed the police to investigate Doble since the issue involved a criminal offense.

Doble also accused Ong of forcing him to admit to the wiretapping. — With Jaime Laude