Ong faces arrest for illegal wiretapping

Despite having sought refuge in a Roman Catholic seminary, former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) deputy director Samuel Ong will still be arrested this week by the police for violating the anti-wiretapping law, officials said yesterday.

But Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said law enforcers would not forcibly drag Ong out of the seminary, which has given him sanctuary since Friday. Ong had asked the Roman Catholic Church for protection.

The Philippine National Police (PNP), meanwhile, thanked actress Susan Roces for rejecting the calls of the opposition to mount a new people power revolt to unseat President Arroyo.

Hundreds of members of militant groups gathered at the Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila last Saturday, calling on Mrs. Arroyo to resign, a day after Ong came out with alleged original tape recordings of Mrs. Arroyo talking to an election official about rigging the results of last year’s presidential election.

"We are thankful to Susan Roces for her being calm. She discouraged the people (from mounting) another revolution," PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil said.

Ermita and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said in separate interviews that Ong’s arrest would be done in such a manner that it would not cause any trouble and give groups further grist to attack the government.

"The authorities will file for a search warrant and a warrant of arrest and serve it (on Ong) on Tuesday, maybe, and let the law, the processes happen," Ermita said. "There will be no forcible entry into the (San Carlos Seminary) compound."

He added he was "very sure that our authorities will know how to handle that, how to serve the warrant."

Ermita said they could not fault the Church because "every person has the right to look for a sanctuary," nor could they accuse Church officials of meddling in the country’s political affairs.

"We know that there is a separation of church and state. I have always said the Church leaders are only following their advocacy and not because it is their intention to cause an uprising against the government. We know that they have a moral mission to improve the people’s condition," he said.

Bishop Efraim Tendero of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches said they are calling for sobriety in the wake of the controversies rocking the government.

"For those who say they have evidence, our wish is that they bring it before the proper forum and not use trial by publicity. Our requests to government leaders and all those in authority is not to suppress the truth," he said.

As to news reports that outgoing National Labor Relations Commission head Roy Señeres talked to the Syrian embassy about asylum for Ong, Ermita said he is leaving it up to the ambassadors of embassies in Manila to protect their own interests. NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco earlier expressed the belief that Ong would not leave the country.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the government will handle the situation carefully, without having to compromise the law.

He said it was very clear in the press conference held by Ong last Friday that some laws were violated and this should be investigated.

"But while we’re doing this, we should be prudent and sober," Bunye said.

Gonzalez said the government will go through the legal process of securing a court order for the arrest even if Ong could be arrested without a warrant.

He said Ong’s inflammatory statements, calling on Mrs. Arroyo to resign, could even be grounds for charging him with inciting to sedition, a "continuing crime" that does not require a warrant of arrest.

Gonzalez said the Supreme Court has upheld the legality of warrantless arrests several times.

"Normally, it’s not easy for people to immediately understand such concepts as ‘continuing crime’ and that could be exploited and we would be accused of being ruthless when we are just upholding the law," he said.

The Department of Justice would act as the complainant in this case and file charges of violating Republic Act 4200, which covers both wiretapping and inciting to sedition.

Gonzalez noted that the opposition claims the government is ruthless when it enforces the law, but brands the government as weak if it is humane.

Ong Lawyers Ready

Ong’s eight legal counsels, all of them volunteers, said yesterday they are ready to defend him in court once he is arrested by law enforcement agencies.

Lawyer Luis Sison told The STAR in a phone interview that their client need not worry about being jailed since inciting to sedition and violating the anti-wiretapping law are both bailable offenses.

"We expect the actions to go to court. Agencies that intend to run after him would have to go to court before they could arrest and prosecute him," Sison said.

However, Sison admitted he and Ong’s other lawyers have yet to hear the audiotape — allegedly containing a "wiretapped" phone conversation between Mrs. Arroyo and Commission on Elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano arranging her poll victory in Mindanao — and a videotape showing how Ong got the audiotape from sources in the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Liwayway Vinzons-Chato, who heads Ong’s retinue of lawyers, has maintained her belief that the court would junk the charges against their client for lack of merit.

"If their only basis for the arrest was his statement calling for the President’s resignation, they should then arrest Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and other people with the same sentiment as well," she said.

Ong’s lawyers said Ong has been able to get some rest after he surfaced last Friday, looking "more calm and less worried as compared to the past two days."

They also confirmed Ong is still inside the seminary, where he will continue to stay "until the bishops are allowing him to."

Sison said though they are not aware of any plans by Ong to secure asylum in another country, "it would be a justifiable move because his life is under serious threat."

He stressed that threats to Ong’s life really do exist, citing an abandoned Mitsubishi Galant, with license plates TSC-796, recovered inside the seminary.

Ong’s fears of a possible attempt on his life peaked yesterday after several men in a car fled on foot after being discovered inside the seminary compound Friday night.

Sison had peeked into the vehicle the following morning and saw a rifle.

"The armalite only proves he is in danger. We want to determine who owns this vehicle and firearm, but we are under the belief that they are from possible assassins," Sison said.

The Southern Police District’s anti-carnapping unit took the vehicle into custody yesterday afternoon. SPD-AnCar head Chief Inspector Eduardo Tungol said they recovered an unlicensed vehicle without the firearm.

"We will verify with our regional office to determine the owner of the vehicle," he said.

Sources inside the seminary said they had seen policemen detach the license plate before moving the car.

The SPD-Ancar team who took the vehicle from the seminary said they did not take anything. They were the only ones allowed to enter the seminary compound since the gates were locked to prevent rallyists and newsmen from entering.

Tungol said they will trace the owner of the car on Tuesday with the help of the Land Transportation Office. He said this can be done even without the license plate since each car has a unique chassis and engine number.

Policemen led by SPD director Chief Superintendent Wilfredo Garcia himself had tried to gain access to the vehicle since Friday but were not allowed to enter the seminary even after assuring Church officials that they are not there to arrest Ong.

Meanwhile, Reps. Eric Singson of Ilocos Sur and Robert Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte said the controversial audiotape recording will not cause Mrs. Arroyo’s downfall since she had nothing to do with the wiretapping.

Barbers warned that any change in government must be within the bounds of the law or the next leader that will be installed through another revolt will face the same turmoil. — Paolo Romero, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Evelyn Macairan, Edu Punay, Michael Punongbayan, Perseus Echeminada