4 intel cops nabbed for ‘casing’ FPJ home

Four intelligence agents allegedly spying on the campaign headquarters of the late presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. were "arrested" Thursday night in San Juan.

Mayor Jose Victor "JV" Ejercito said the arrest of the four agents of the Philippine National Police-Intelligence Group (PNP-IG) confirmed reports that the Arroyo administration had been conducting surveillance operations on members of the opposition all along.

"They had been asking questions, (such as) if the opposition leaders are gathering for a meeting at the place. So we know that they are watching us," Ejercito said.

San Juan police invited for questioning Chief Inspector Restituto Arcangel, Police Officer 2 Oliver Esguerra, and PO1s Ernesto Buenviaje and Leoncio Castillo Jr. The four agents presented authentic mission orders for their surveillance activities.

They were later released to their superior officer, Superintendent Rufino Mendoza, who confirmed their claim.

PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil said the four agents, riding on two motorcycles, were on their way to Mandaluyong City to arrest a principal suspect in the killing of former Pasig City congressman Henry Lanot in Pasig last April 13.

The three agents had stopped in front of the suspect’s building and were waiting for Arcangel, their team leader, to arrive in a separate vehicle from Camp Crame in Quezon City when they were accosted by San Juan police, according to IG director Chief Superintendent Ismael Rafanan.

"They were supposed to proceed to the reported hiding place of the suspect when the security guard of the building became apprehensive about the presence of the unidentified persons," Bataoil said.

He added that though they had been close to catching Lanot’s killer, they might have to temporarily sideline the investigation as a result of the incident.

Ejercito had ordered San Juan police chief Superintendent Rodelio Jocson to arrest the four agents after receiving reports from the security guards manning the headquarters about the presence of armed men.

The former Poe headquarters located at the Acacia Building on Wilson street in Barangay Greenhills is sometimes used by members of the opposition as a venue for their meetings.

PNP chief Director General Arturo Lomibao had ordered Rafanan to explain the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Rafanan expressed regret to those who were inconvenienced by the incident. "Clearly, it was a simple case of miscommunication on the part of the police personnel involved," Bataoil said.

Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, who heads the United Opposition, denounced the incident as amounting to "an undeclared but de facto martial rule."

The statement issued by the group said the building housing Poe’s headquarters was reportedly owned by the late actor’s widow, actress Susan Roces.

The four agents, according to the statement, claimed to be members of the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and asked the security guards whether opposition leaders met in the building and the exact time of these meetings.

The statement added that Roces, upon being informed of the development, quickly called Ejercito and Binay, both of whom quickly rushed to the scene.

Binay said while members of his group are political opponents of the Arroyo administration, they "are not the ‘enemies of the state’ that they are painted to be, and have broken no law of the land."

He also said "military and police personnel should choose not to follow orders to harass and intimidate the political opponents of Mrs. Arroyo."

According to Binay, this incident was an apparent continuation of the bold display of armed military personnel outside San Carlos seminary in Makati City, where former National Bureau of Investigation deputy director Samuel Ong sought refuge after admitting he was the source of a controversial audio recording in which Mrs. Arroyo allegedly talked with an election official about fixing the results of last year’s presidential elections.