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| Southeast Asia |
| Military spies face probe over wiretapped conversations |
| 2005-06-10 |
| THE MILITARY will investigate its intelligence arm over allegations that it was behind the wiretapping of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's calls concerning the May 2004 election. "This is a serious matter and the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] is conducting an investigation," Chief of Staff General Efren Abu told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo. "We can't pinpoint anyone in particular. Everyone is a suspect," Abu said, when asked if the investigation was zeroing in on specific agents of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP). Commodore Tirso Danga, deputy chief of staff for intelligence or J2, himself a former ISAFP chief, will head the investigation. Early this week, Malacañang released two compact discs of wiretapped cellular phone conversations between the President and an election official in which Mrs. Arroyo allegedly sought assurances of a convincing win in the polls. The Palace claimed that one was authentic and the other was tampered. Abu claimed that he had not asked ISAFP chief Brigadier General Marlu Quevedo if his office was the source of the tape. The military chief also clarified that the Board of Generals had not recommended Quevedo's replacement as ISAFP chief despite an announcement by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita. When asked to confirm reports that an ISAFP team was grounded and its leaders restricted to quarters, Abu said: "I have not received any report about that." |
| Posted by:Steve |