US embassy cable - 05MANILA4809

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 004809 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, INR/EAP, EAP/PD 
NSC FOR H. MORROW 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/11/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, PINS, KPAO, ASEC, PREL, RP 
SUBJECT: MORE PHILIPPINE REACTION TO UNFOLDING U.S. 
ESPIONAGE CASE 
 
REF: A. EAP/MTS-MANILA UNCLASS EMAIL 07 OCT 2005 
 
     B. MANILA 4785 
     C. MANILA 4466 
     D. MANILA 4433 
 
Classified By: Political Officer John R. Groch for 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary.  The indictment of Philippine national 
Michael Ray Aquino on charges of conspiracy and acting as an 
unregistered foreign agent has elicited a range of reactions 
in the Philippines, including comments from President Arroyo 
and the Secretary of Justice.  Key Opposition politicians, 
however, have largely refrained from commenting in recent 
days.  Much of the reaction has centered on Aquino's alleged 
connections to Opposition politicians, including former 
president Joseph "Erap" Estrada and Senator Panfilo "Ping" 
Lacson; Aquino is routinely being described in the local 
media as Lacson's "protege."  Unsurprisingly, Malacanang has 
sought to make political hay out of the indictment by 
attacking the Opposition and its apparent links to Aquino. 
End Summary. 
 
2.  (U) In the latest Philippine reaction to the unfolding 
U.S. espionage case (refs B-D), President Gloria Macapagal 
Arroyo has responded to Aquino's October 6 indictment by 
publicly linking the espionage allegations to her 
oft-repeated claims that the Opposition has been trying to 
destabilize her government.  Arroyo has characterized the 
Opposition politicians who allegedly received classified 
information from Aquino as "coup plotters" and "robbers," and 
suggested that they were "prepared to go to the extent of 
destroying Philippine-American relations just to serve their 
ambitions for power."  The President, through her Press 
Secretary, has also called on Opposition politicians who 
 
SIPDIS 
allegedly received stolen U.S. documents to apologize to the 
Philippine people for disgracing "the good name of our 
country." 
 
3.  (U) Of late, there has been almost no response to the 
Aquino indictment from Opposition politicians, including 
those, like Estrada and Lacson, who had previously come 
forward and acknowledged that they had links to him.  This 
lack of response has itself been cause for comment in the 
local media.  However, Senator Aquilino Pimentel, an 
Opposition leader who has acknowledged seeing some of the 
material allegedly procured by Aquino, has continued to 
downplay the importance of the U.S. case. 
 
4.  (U) The GRP is following up on the U.S. indictment of 
Aquino, and the purported role of Opposition politicians in 
his case, by launching its own investigation, geared to 
ferreting out an alleged "money trail" linking the 
Opposition, Aquino, and Leandro Aragoncillo, the FBI analyst 
arrested last month.  Secretary of Justice Raul Gonzalez has 
expressed disappointment with U.S. law enforcement agencies 
over this matter, asserting that, "They (the USG) meddle with 
us and then they don't cooperate with us."  Several 
Philippine congressmen have also called for the USG to reveal 
the names of any Philippine officials alleged to be involved 
with the case, and Senator Miriam Santiago has filed a Senate 
resolution seeking an investigation into the case.  Late on 
October 11, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 
Interpol Chief asserted that new information coming from 
Washington indicated that some of the information allegedly 
stolen by Aquino and Aragoncillo ended up in the hands of the 
Communist New People's Army.  He did not provide evidence to 
support this claim.  He also stated that the USG would be 
making an unspecified announcement in the case on October 11 
(Washington time). 
 
5.  (C)  Comment.  It is not at all surprising that this is 
being treated locally largely as another episode in the 
Philippines' ongoing internal political melodrama.  President 
Arroyo has seized upon the case as an opportunity to bolster 
her own political stature and to strike back at the 
Opposition.  The relative silence of Opposition politicians 
is a good indication that this case may in fact provide 
Arroyo with a useful weapon to hit them over the head with. 
The comments of Sec. Gonzalez are unfortunate, especially 
since Philippine DOJ Undersecretary Ernesto Pineda and NBI 
Director Reynaldo Wycoco had constructive meetings last week 
with USG counterparts on this matter in Washington (ref A). 
Gonzalez does, however, have a reputation for ritually 
speaking off the cuff, and his remarks should be taken in 
that context.  End Comment. 
 
JONES