US embassy cable - 05MANILA4785

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 MANILA 004785 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, INR/EAP, EAP/PD 
NSC FOR GREEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, PINS, KPAO, RP 
SUBJECT: PHILIPPINE REACTION TO LATEST REVELATIONS ABOUT 
ALLEGED ACTIVITIES OF FBI EMPLOYEE 
 
REF: A. MANILA 4466 
     B. MANILA 4433 
     C. MANILA 4417 
     D. MANILA 1674 
 
1.  (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified; Please 
handle accordingly. 
 
2.  (SBU) The Philippine media is covering in an extensive 
fashion an October 5 report by ABC News that 
recently-arrested FBI analyst Leandro Aragoncillo may have 
stolen classified US documents from the office of the US Vice 
President and forwarded these materials to Opposition 
politicians in the Philippines.  All media are repeating 
ABC's allegation that it is the first recorded instance of 
possible espionage within the White House.  Philippine media 
stories on these latest developments are contained in para 5. 
 
3.  (SBU) Political reaction to these allegations has been 
muted, so far.  Presidential Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye 
has stated, "We consider it the business of the US government 
and we are not making any further comment."  In October 6 
remarks to the press, Opposition Senator Panifilo Lacson -- 
as he has before -- acknowledged receiving documents from 
Aragoncillo, but downplayed their significance, referring to 
their contents as "shallow information."  Former Education 
Secretary Florencio Abad, who apparently also received 
 
SIPDIS 
information from Aragoncilo, said the documents "were really 
nothing new."  Opposition Senator Aquilino Pimentel also 
acknowledged seeing such documents. 
 
4.  (SBU) As we did in the initial set of stories about 
Aragoncillo when he was arrested in September (refs a-c), 
Mission has not responded and will not respond to inquiries 
about the ongoing US investigation.  We have referred all 
questions to the US Department of Justice. 
 
-------------------------------- 
TEXT OF PHILIPPINE MEDIA REPORTS 
-------------------------------- 
 
5.  (U) Following is the full text of several major articles 
from the Philippine press: 
 
BEGIN TEXT 
 
"RP: No Comment on White House Spy" (Philippine Daily 
Inquirer, 10/07/05) 
 
The Philippine government said Thursday that the arrest of a 
former US Marine and naturalized US citizen from the 
Philippines who allegedly stole documents from the White 
House was an internal US affair. 
 
ABC News reported on Wednesday that the suspect, Leandro 
Aragoncillo, had allegedly used his top secret clearance at 
the White House to steal classified materials from Vice 
President Dick Cheney's office.  Officials told ABC that 
among the classified documents allegedly stolen were damaging 
dossiers on Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 
which were allegedly passed on to opposition politicians 
planning a coup in the Pacific nation. 
 
"We consider it as the business of the US government and we 
are not making any further comment," Arroyo spokesperson 
Ignacio Bunye told reporters here. 
 
Aragoncillo was arrested last month and accused of 
downloading more than 100 classified documents from computers 
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), where he worked 
as an analyst after a nearly three-year stint at the White 
House. The FBI and CIA are calling it the first case of 
espionage at the White House in modern history, according to 
ABC. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the 
Philippines counterpart of the FBI, declined to comment on 
the ABC report. 
 
NBI chief Reynaldo Wycoco had told reporters last month that 
the FBI had sought the aid of his agency in tracking down the 
recipients of the stolen documents, which were allegedly 
passed through former Filipino police official Michael Ray 
Aquino. 
 
Aquino fled to the United States after being indicted for 
murder here. 
 
The US embassy declined to comment on the case. 
Aragoncillo's alleged spying is suspected of being part of 
opposition attempts to gain information to bring down the 
Arroyo government. Deposed Philippine president Joseph 
Estrada and two other Filipino opposition figures admitted 
last month receiving information from Aragoncillo. Estrada, 
who is under house arrest while facing corruption charges in 
the Philippines, said Aragoncillo visited him in detention 
and had passed on some documents on the Philippine political 
situation. The transfers apparently occurred between mid-2001 
and 2003. 
 
END TEXT 
--- 
 
BEGIN TEXT 
 
"Palace, U.S. Mum on Espionage Case (Philippine Star, 
10/07/05) 
 
The government said yesterday that the arrest of 
Filipino-American FBI analyst Leandro Aragoncillo, who 
allegedly stole documents from the White House, was an 
internal US affair. 
 
"We consider it the business of the US government and we are 
not making any further comment," Press Secretary Ignacio 
Bunye told reporters. "It's up to them to do what is 
necessary. It's their own breach of security." 
 
The US Embassy declined to comment on the case. "It's a legal 
and judicial matter," said Lee McCleeny, the embassy's 
counselor for public affairs. 
 
The Department of Foreign Affairs also declined to comment, 
except to say that the government will provide assistance to 
former police officer Michael Ray Aquino, who was arrested 
along with Aragoncillo also on espionage charges. 
 
"The DFA can't comment on the matter that is pending before a 
US court," said spokesman Gilberto Asuque. "We are 
reiterating that the Philippine consulate general in New York 
is ready to assist Mr. Aquino." 
 
US broadcaster ABC News reported yesterday that Aragoncillo 
had allegedly used his top secret clearance at the White 
House to steal classified materials from US Vice President 
Dick Cheney's office. 
 
Officials told ABC that among the classified documents 
allegedly stolen were damaging dossiers on President Arroyo, 
which were allegedly passed on to opposition politicians 
planning a coup here. 
 
Aragoncillo was arrested last month and accused of 
downloading more than 100 classified documents from computers 
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), where he worked 
as an analyst after a nearly three-year stint at the White 
House. 
 
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Philippines' 
counterpart to the FBI, declined to comment on the report. 
 
NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco told reporters last month that 
the FBI had sought the aid of his agency in tracking down the 
recipients of the stolen documents, which were allegedly 
passed through Aquino, who now lives in New York. 
 
Aquino fled to the United States after being indicted for 
murder here. 
 
Aragoncillo's alleged spying is suspected of being part of 
opposition attempts to gain information to bring down the 
Arroyo administration. 
 
Deposed President Joseph Estrada and two other Filipino 
opposition figures admitted last month to receiving 
information from Aragoncillo. 
 
Estrada, who is under house arrest while facing corruption 
charges in the Philippines, said Aragoncillo visited him in 
detention and had passed on some documents on the Philippine 
political situation. The transfers apparently occurred 
between mid-2001 and 2003. 
 
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said his office wrote to the 
FBI to ask for copies of documents that would emerge in the 
investigation, but that the US government has not responded. 
 
"A crime has been committed in the United States," he told 
The Associated Press. "Two Filipinos are involved and we 
don't know what classified documents they got, so we want to 
know because it might affect the national security situation 
in this country." 
 
He said bits of information that can be gleaned from the 
charge sheet against Aragoncillo show there could be some 
information used to destabilize the government. He did not 
elaborate. 
 
Gonzalez said he was on the phone yesterday with Philippine 
Ambassador to Washington Albert del Rosario, who told him 
that the Philippine Embassy was keeping tabs on the 
Aragoncillo case. 
 
END TEXT 
 
--- 
 
BEGIN TEXT 
 
"Fil-Am Tagged in White House Espionage Case" (Philippine 
Star, 10/07/05) 
 
 
WASHINGTON - In what is believed to be the first espionage 
case involving the White House in recent years, a 
Filipino-American linked to the political opposition in the 
Philippines allegedly used his top secret clearance to steal 
classified information from Vice President Dick Cheney's 
office, US broadcaster ABC News reported yesterday. 
 
ABC said Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) analyst 
Leandro Aragoncillo, 46, worked undetected at the White House 
for almost three years before leaving to take a job with the 
agency. He was arrested last month and accused of downloading 
more than 100 classified documents from FBI computer 
databases. 
 
Aragoncillo is a naturalized US citizen who was born in the 
Philippines. 
 
Officials told ABC the classified material which the former 
21-year US Marine veteran stole included damaging dossiers on 
President Arroyo. They were allegedly passed on to Filipino 
opposition politicians planning a coup in the Philippines. 
 
The FBI and CIA are calling it the first case of espionage at 
the White House in modern history, according to ABC. 
 
White House officials would not comment on the case and 
referred reporters to the FBI, but confirmed an investigation 
had been launched.  "It is an ongoing investigation and as 
such all questions should be directed to the FBI," White 
House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said. "We are 
cooperating fully with the investigation."  "No comment, all 
questions have to be addressed to the FBI, it's a pending 
investigation and the White House will do its best to 
cooperate," said deputy White House spokesman Trent Duffy. 
 
Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said the 
department would not comment on an ongoing investigation, 
first reported Wednesday evening by ABC.  A law enforcement 
official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the 
sensitivity of the case, said investigators were examining 
all of Aragoncillo's postings where he had access to 
classified information, including the White House.  Officials 
are trying to figure out how Aragoncillo got his job at the 
White House in 1999, and when he started spying, ABC said. 
The former Marine worked on the staff of then vice president 
Al Gore in 2000 and told friends he also worked with former 
US President Bill Clinton and with Condoleezza Rice when she 
was national security adviser, the network said. 
 
"Even though it's not for the Russians or some other 
government, the fact that it occurred at the White House is a 
matter of great concern," John Martin, the government's lead 
espionage prosecutor for 26 years, was quoted as saying.  "Of 
course, it is a source of embarrassment when you find out 
that this kind of activity has been carried out literally 
right under your nose," Martin said. 
 
Aragoncillo's alleged spying is suspected of being part of 
opposition attempts to gain information to bring down the 
Arroyo administration. 
 
In July 2004, Aragoncillo began working as an FBI 
intelligence analyst at its Fort Monmouth Information 
Technology Center in New Jersey and began sending classified 
information and documents in January, according to an FBI 
criminal complaint released by the US Justice Department in 
September.  The documents' contents have not been made 
public. 
 
From May to Aug. 15 of this year, he printed or downloaded 
101 classified documents relating to the Philippines, of 
which 37 were classified "secret," according to the criminal 
complaint.  Aragoncillo allegedly used personal email 
accounts to send the files to individuals in the Philippines, 
including former and current public officials, from January 
to September 2005.  He sent some of the material to Michael 
Ray Aquino, a former senior superintendent of the Philippine 
National Police who lives in New York City, the complaint 
said.  Both men were arrested Sept. 10 at their homes and 
ordered held without bail following an appearance before a 
federal magistrate.  Aragoncillo "essentially admitted that 
he took classified information," Assistant US Attorney Karl 
H. Buch told the magistrate. 
 
Since his arrest, Aragoncillo has been cooperating with 
police, according to ABC. "He has admitted to spying while 
working on the staff of Vice President Cheney's office," the 
network said. 
 
Aquino, arrested in March for overstaying a tourist visa, was 
charged alongside Aragoncillo with "acting as unregistered 
agents of a foreign official and passing classified 
information to that official and others in the Republic of 
the Philippines." 
 
Deposed Philippine President Joseph Estrada admitted last 
month to receiving information from Aragoncillo.  Estrada, 
who is under house arrest while facing corruption charges in 
the Philippines, said Aragoncillo visited him in detention 
and had passed on some documents on the Philippine political 
situation. The transfers apparently occurred between mid-2001 
and 2003. 
 
Aquino is a known protg of opposition leader Sen. Panfilo 
Lacson, who has been active in opposition efforts to oust 
Mrs. Arroyo.  Both Estrada and Lacson have been actively 
calling for the ouster of Mrs. Arroyo, who has been embroiled 
in her own political scandal stemming from opposition 
allegations that she cheated to win the May 2004 elections. 
Lacson, a former national police chief under whom Aquino 
served, said he and "many others" received information passed 
along by Aquino, but he played down the value of the reports, 
describing them as "shallow information." 
 
Last month, Newark US Attorney Christopher J. Christie said 
there was no evidence that the Arroyo administration was 
involved, but he would not say if the suspects were in 
contact with opposition factions. 
 
The Philippines has been beset by persistent coup rumors 
since Mrs. Arroyo was accused of rigging last year's 
elections. 
 
END TEXT 
 
JOHNSON