Lumbera accepts Navy apology

MANILA, Philippines - National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera has accepted the military’s apology after a corporal was caught spying on his house, but clarified that he is not buying the military’s claim that it was for a “Navy intelligence course.”

“It’s accepted. Although (I) don’t necessarily believe every detail of it,” Lumbera told The STAR over the phone yesterday.

On Thursday morning, Corporal Hannibal Masura Mondido Guerrero, a rookie Naval Intelligence student taking up the Naval Enlisted

 Personnel Intelligence Course, was caught spying on Lumbera’s home in Mapayapa Village, Quezon City.

The security guards of the subdivision cornered Guerrero after Lumbera’s helpers saw him taking pictures of the house and asking for information about him. 

Two of Guerrero’s colleagues escaped on board a waiting car.

The Philippine Navy, through spokesman Lt. Colonel Edgard Arevalo, apologized to Lumbera on the same day, saying they never meant him any harm and claimed that Guerrero was just undergoing “basic naval school training.”

Arevalo clarified that Capt. Bayani Gaerlan, chief of the Naval Intelligence Security Force, dispatched Guerrero to Lumbera’s house to verify information that it is a communist hub.

“As per information given by Capt. Gaerlan, he (Guerrero) was tasked to conduct an information and verification (operation) pursuant to a scenario where a supposed house on a given address was frequented by communist insurgents,” he said.

Lumbera said that even if Guerrero was caught, there is still a threat that he would be monitored in the future for his social activism.

Lumbera suspects that his residence was spied on because of his involvement in the protest against the selection of this year’s National Artists, or because his house is the headquarters of the activist party-list group Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), which he chairs.

“He (Guerrero) has failed (but) they (military) can send another one,” he said.

Lumbera said that more than being harmed, he was concerned with feeling unsecured after finding out that he was being monitored

“The threat still remains, the threat being that you are being watched. In response to your activity, the military is monitoring your movement,” he said.

He stressed that despite what had happened, he would continue with his social causes.

Lumbera said he would file a complaint before the Commission on Human Rights next week.

Navy explanation “not plausible”

CHR chair Leila de Lima said the surveillance was a “cause of serious concern, if not alarm” since it involves a person’s right to privacy and security.

De Lima said yesterday that they are asking the AFP to redesign its intelligence training procedure and make sure that it complies with human rights standards.

She said the military’s claim that the alleged surveillance of Lumbera’s house is a training exercise is “not plausible” because it involves civilians in an actual address. 

“It’s also too much of a coincidence that the subject of surveillance this time is one involved in protest actions relative to the National Artist awards scandal. If the training claim is true, still it’s highly objectionable as it opens risks of rights to privacy,” she said. 

“(This shows that) anybody can be a subject of surveillance and anybody can be a victim of human rights violation. Government needs to be very conscious to respect and protect the rights of ordinary persons. Training exercises should be designed in such a way that no possible violations can happen,” she added.

De Lima said the constitutional body would discuss if it will conduct a formal investigation on the incident. 

Defense Secretary and administration presidential bet Gilbert Teodoro yesterday ordered an investigation into the incident.

“I am also questioning that and I’m ordering an investigation. Heads will roll if somebody is found really guilty. I really don’t believe that people should be the subject of training exercises,” he said.

Teodoro said he does not find the explanation of the Navy officials that Guerrero is a rookie Naval intelligence student undergoing training.

“Its not acceptable, definitely not. This is the first time that I see something like this happen. It’s not acceptable,” he said.

Teodoro said Armed Forces chief Gen. Victor Ibrado has started the investigation.

Malacañang, however, is standing by the explanation of the Navy on the bungled surveillance operation.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo denied that the Palace had anything to do with the operation. She said Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita had already clarified it to Lumbera.

“I leave it to you if you want to believe it or not, because of course, on our part, we have to stand by what the military is saying because only they would know if they have some intel (intelligence). We don’t know; we just take it as it is,” she said.

Fajardo said the AFP’s actions might have been triggered by a potential threat to national security. “So we have to give it to them also. I think on a case-to-case basis as long as there are no human rights violations and they are ware of that. That is the concern of the Palace,” she added.

Fajardo said Lumbera has the right to pursue action on the incident such as calling on the Philippine National Police or the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate the incident.

“If Mr. Lumbera would feel that there is a need for him to file a complaint in the proper forum like, probably, in our PNP or NBI, nothing can stop him from doing that,” she said.

No more hands-on Intel exercises for rookies

Following the spying incident, Navy chief Vice Admiral Ferdinand Golez ordered a stop to the conduct of practical exercises in intelligence gathering for trainees, effective yesterday.

The Navy’s training program, particularly the administration of hands-on exercises like information and reports verification, will also be reevaluated, after which an alternative program will be proposed.

In a statement issued yesterday, Arevalo said this was decided on to erase fears that the military is spying on civilians.

“Recognizing the apprehension of our countrymen, the Navy has stopped the conduct of the practical exercises and on its own initiative, initiated an inquiry into the incident,” he said.

“We are committed to striking a balance between realism in training and privacy concerns of persons and properties that may be affected in similar academic exercise,” he added.

Arevalo said Guerrero failed the practical exercise because he was arrested. He would be sent back to his mother unit, the Marines, and will be barred from taking the course.

Arevalo said the Navy expresses its gratitude to Lumbera for accepting their apology.

“We have already said that he was not the subject of a surveillance. The student is on an information/verification task for a given academic situation,” he said. With James Mananghaya, Jaime Laude, Christina Mendez, Katherine Andraneda, Marvin Sy