Iggy’s aide on phone call: Sounds like me

The chief of staff of President Arroyo’s brother-in-law surfaced yesterday and said one of the voices in a supposed phone conversation with President Arroyo sounded like him.

Edgar Ruado, however, fell short of claiming he was the "Gary" referred to in the purported tapped phone conversation.

As this developed, presidential security personnel went on full alert yesterday amid talk of a coup reportedly being planned by retired generals and the opposition.

The increased tension at Malacañang, however, was subtle — evidenced only by an increased number of Presidential Security Group (PSG) personnel patrolling the Palace grounds in their camouflage uniforms.

PSG officials said the deployment of a large number of guards and military hardware to secure Malacañang Palace from possible coup threats could be done at a moment’s notice. Sources said the PSG’s armored vehicles had been placed on alert for quick deployment to the Palace perimeter.

Ruado, chief of staff of the President’s brother-in-law, Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio Arroyo, submitted an affidavit to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) claiming that the voice recorded on a compact disc released to the media, containing the voice of a certain "Gary" and others talking about tampering with the May 10, 2004 election results, "sounded very much" like his voice.

Ruado was accompanied by his lawyer, Joel Chua, to the NBI National Capital Region office, where Ruado gave his statement to NBI regional director Edmund Arugay.

Meanwhile, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said the government was now unstable amid the coup reports, the jueteng scandal involving members of the First Family, the imposition of an increased value-added tax (VAT) and the moves now underway to amend the 1987 Constitution.

Considering that "the government is somehow unstable now," Cruz advised Mrs. Arroyo to be a populist president.

The instability, he said, is "because of too many issues... about corruption, the question of political appointees and the issue of (Charter change)... the issue of (the increased VAT) and the pending (price) increase of basic commodities."

These issues, Cruz added, "are not contributing to people feeling at ease with the present situation... There is really a good amount of resentment."

Sound-Alike

Ruado and Chua also visited the office of NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco at 11 a.m. after learning that opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson had identified Ruado as the male voice in the recording identified as "Gary."

Ruado said he was in Negros on June 7 when his friends from the media called him and told him of the developments in the Senate.

While Ruado said he was only able to listen to the tail end of the recording, "it became clear to me that the voice of ‘Gary’ sounded very much like my voice."

However, he stopped short of categorically confirming that it was his voice on the recording.

"Ruado has not yet fully heard the taped conversation and, if he admits to being Gary, then he would assume responsibility for the entire conversation on both (the original and altered) audio CDs," a source in the NBI said. "There had also been alterations in the recording."

Since he only issued a preliminary affidavit, it is possible that the NBI may again invite Ruado to the NBI office to listen to the full recordings and obtain a sample recording of his voice to compare with the male voices recorded on the CDs.

The recorded conversation included another male voice whom the President’s detractors said belonged to Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

"I tried to recall the conversations I had with the President and First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, both of whom called me many times on various occasions during the 2004 election. As far as I can recall, the conversations I had with the President and the First Gentleman are normal conversations any political officer would have with his boss."

Prior to working for Rep. Ignacio Arroyo, Ruado worked as a political adviser to the President in 1993, when Mrs. Arroyo was a senator.

He also said there was nothing unusual in his conversations with the Chief Executive, and that since he was "one of the longest-serving political officers of the President, she would normally call me personally regarding various political concerns."

Wycoco said the NBI is "preparing a letter to (Bunye) to request information on where he got the original and altered audio CDs and if it was the President’s voice that was recorded."

The NBI chief also said his bureau will look into whether or not former President Joseph Estrada’s lawyer broke any laws and if any legal action should be taken against him after attorney Alan Paguia publicly announced that he had provided the "voiceover" for the recorded conversation.

Meetings

The President has held successive meetings with military and police officials since Tuesday, including an unscheduled appearance at the Army command conference at Fort Bonifacio in Makati City yesterday.

In a press conference at Malacañang, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said he was informed by PSG chief Brig. Gen. Delfin Bangit that there was nothing unusual in the increased alert.

Ermita said Bangit told him that the heightened alert was imposed in connection with the Independence Day celebrations come Sunday.

"Whatever it is, it is the duty of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the PSG that the security mission is being done by them," he said.

The heightened alert was imposed as government intelligence units closely monitored the movements of retired generals, who reportedly had been meeting with active senior military officials.

Sources said retired Gen. Fortunato Abat had met with officials of the Army’s Scout Ranger regiment. Abat had earlier called for the President’s ouster.

Ermita said the government had taken a second look at reports regarding possible destabilization and coup plots against the Arroyo administration since such talk began intensifying weeks ago.

He said the declarations made by Abat’s group were dismissed by the people, but the Senate investigation into the alleged jueteng payola involving the First Family and the purported eavesdropping on the President’s private conversations prompted Malacañang to check the coup plot reports.

"The government is not without any means of checking all these destabilization reports and threats to the stability of the republic and that’s where the AFP, PNP and PSG and their intelligence units (come in)," he said.

He also said there is a "continuous effort to weaken the national leadership" and that the "opposition would be happy to see that these things are coming out."

Ermita said the meetings between the President and military and police officials were not loyalty checks; rather, they were just about the President touching base with members of the uniformed services.

During the meetings, the President asked the military and police officials not to hesitate to discuss with her any complaints about promotion criteria.

Responding to reporters’ questions, Ermita said the President conducted these meetings "to strengthen the bond between the soldier and the commander."

Mrs. Arroyo sat down to a "social dinner" on Tuesday with the graduates of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) alumni from the Classes of "73 to ’78. During this dinner, the President assured the military and police officials of her instructions to improve the welfare of soldiers and the reform programs in the military.

"You can be assured that our soldiers are loyal to the Constitution, the Republic and the Commander-in-Chief," Ermita said.

He also said the PSG admitted to shortcomings that provided opportunities for some groups to eavesdrop on the President’s confidential cellular phone conversations.

According to Bangit, the PSG’s jamming equipment was not able to block out these eavesdroppers, Ermita said.

"The PSG felt bad that this happened," Ermita said. "(Bangit) said it’s command responsibility and they’re reviewing their (security procedures)."

Because of the eavesdropping incident, Ermita said he was now more wary of what he says in conversations made over cellular phones — adding that such monitoring and recording of conversations may be used to blackmail government officials.

Meanwhile, PNP chief Director General Arturo Lomibao said the personnel of the PNP cannot be bribed to abandon the President.

"There were some of our officials who were offered money who have reported these (bribery attempts) to us and stated that they denounce these attempts," Lomibao said in Filipino during an interview with radio station dzRH.

He earlier admitted that there had been attempts to destabilize the Arroyo administration, but has assured that "the PNP will not be swayed by any motive and will remain faithful to the Constitution and to our sworn duty."

Lomibao said the 115,000-strong PNP "stands squarely behind the rule of law and we will stay focused on our mission to protect and serve the people and uphold the right of the state to protect itself."

Populist President?

The President should "become a populist figure of leadership," Bishop Cruz said and "turn her attention really to the poor of the country... so that all resources of government — all agencies — will help in uplifting the poor as an honest-to-goodness effort which is more than photo opportunities and pogi (handsome) points."

"Each of us has but one life to live," he added. "(The President) can make it in Philippine history if she succeeds in this reversal."

Cruz and Infanta Bishop emeritus Julio Xavier Labayen are preparing to stage a "national day of mourning" on June 11 to express the resentment they feel against the government and to oppose "oppressive" measures such as the increased VAT. — Paolo Romero, Evelyn Macairan, Cecille Suerte Felipe and Mike Frialde