"The AFP budget will definitely pass but perhaps there has to be some explanation by the ISAFP on the truth behind this alleged wiretapping," De Venecia told local journalists here yesterday.
He said a simple explanation from the ISAFP will be satisfactory.
"Let it be an official statement, not just a statement of any individual. (It) will do a lot to satisfy the inquiry of some of the senators and of the congressmen," De Venecia said.
However, he warned that the ISAFP "will have to consider the consequences" should it admit there was indeed wiretapping involved in the controversial "Hello, Garci" tapes that purportedly documented conversations between Mrs. Arroyo and former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, who were allegedly plotting to rig last year’s polls in her favor.
Asked what these consequences could be, he told reporters, "I will leave that to your imagination."
When pressed to comment if the alleged wiretapping had also made him cautious about speaking on the phone, De Venecia said that "since I have a free and clear conscience, I just talk and act normally because we have nothing to hide and we don’t give sinful advice to anyone.
"We just do things normally and do normal good behavior," he added.
On reported coup attempts against the Arroyo administration, De Venecia assured the public that these would not succeed because the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are loyal to the President.
He said the Marines, the Air Force, the Army, and the rangers all follow the chain of command and "AFP chief Gen. Generoso Senga and PNP chief Director General Arturo Lomibao seem to be doing a very good job."
At Malacañang, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye rejected suggestions that Mrs. Arroyo order an investigation into the alleged security breach at the AFP, not only because of the alleged wiretapping but also because an ISAFP agent’s lover was allowed to come and go freely inside the ISAFP compound and among its sensitive units.
He said that as far as Malacañang is concerned, the wiretapping issue was already closed and that the AFP and PNP have instituted reforms to ensure the security of the President and the public in general against unauthorized wiretapping, or the recording of phone conversations without the approval of a court of law.
"We believe they would act accordingly. We’re confident they would take the necessary steps to address the situation," Bunye said. "As to the specific steps, perhaps they are in a better position to explain. The President believes these agencies can handle this situation. We prefer not to go to the peripheral issues (such as the wiretapping). The most important question has been answered by Malacañang."
The purported wiretapped conversation between a woman who sounded like Mrs. Arroyo and a man referred to variously as "Gary" or "Garci" led to the filing of impeachment complaints against the President, but these were later dismissed by the House of Representatives.
"The important question is, did the President win? We have satisfactorily answered that question. Let me say for the nth time that if it’s a question of winning, the President won fair and square," Bunye said.
Senators have threatened to cut the AFP’s budget and bypass the confirmation of Senga by the Commission on Appointments due to the apparent breaches of security in the military.
AFP backpedals on wiretap issue
The AFP is now claiming that it is investigating the purported wiretapping allegedly committed by some of its agents, including controversial former T/Sgt. Vidal Doble.
Retreating from his previous statement that the AFP would leave the wiretap and Doble issues to the police, AFP public information office chief Col. Tristan Kison said the ISAFP is now conducting an investigation into the allegations.
Kison said the ISAFP’s internal investigation has been ongoing for six months, but does not know how far the probe has progressed.
"The focus of the investigation (is) to find out whether or not there was wiretapping. If ever there was, which unit did that," he said.
Kison said the ISAFP has interviewed those allegedly involved in wiretapping the President, including Doble, who reportedly sold the tapes to the political opposition.
Kison could not confirm if investigators have questioned other members of the ISAFP’s Military Intelligence Group 21, which was tagged by Doble’s ex-lover Marietta Santos as the unit behind the eavesdropping operations.
Investigators, led by ISAFP chief Brig. Gen. Marlu Quevedo, will also question Adm. Tirso Danga, the current deputy chief of staff for intelligence, who was ISAFP chief when the supposed wiretap incident happened, Kison said.
Though no timetable has been set, Kison said the ISAFP wants the investigation done "as soon as possible."
Senators have criticized Kison’s earlier pronouncement that the AFP would not investigate the wiretapping allegations.
Senate President Franklin Drilon said while the Senate is keen on asking Senga to explain the fiasco, he said retired general Narciso Abaya, who was the AFP chief at the time of the incident, was apparently not informed of the wiretapping operations.
"Abaya was bypassed. He did not know, according to him. I talked to him personally," Drilon said.
He said he and Abaya talked when they chanced upon each other during a Mass at the Mary the Queen parish church in San Juan last Sunday.
"Who could bypass him? I do not know. That is the question that we must ask because this is very serious," Drilon said.
Meanwhile, Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III supported yesterday the proposal to cut the 2006 budget of the ISAFP in the wake of the wiretapping controversy.
He said it is clear that the ISAFP illegally tapped the phone calls of Mrs. Arroyo and Garcillano during the canvassing period last year.
"Why will we give ISAFP a huge intelligence budget when it is being used for illegal activity? It is a waste of taxpayers’ money, not to mention the fact that their salaries and allowances come from the peoples’ pockets," he said.
Tañada said if the military intelligence arm can illegally wiretap their commander-in-chief, it can do the same to any citizen.
"These people think they are God and we are at their mercy. We should expose and stop this illegal activity. If they can do it to the President, they can do it to anyone. No one is safe anymore. Next time, it will be the other leaders of the country, including those in the opposition," he said.
Tañada accused military officials of coddling those responsible for the wiretap instead of punishing them.
Other congressmen urged the Senate to grill behind closed doors ISAFP men suspected of having allegedly eavesdropped on the conversations between Mrs. Arroyo and Garcillano.
Reps. Antonio Cuenco of Cebu City and Eduardo Veloso of Leyte said a closed-door hearing would ensure the "utmost confidentiality" of the testimonies of suspects to protect national security.
It would also encourage these allegedly wayward military personnel to freely speak up and prevent those they would implicate from being exposed unnecessarily in the media, they said.
"After the probe, any guilty parties should be immediately prosecuted in the military courts," Cuenco and Veloso said. — With Jaime Laude, Jess Diaz, Aurea Calica