DOJ to NBI: Not only wrong suspects, but also wrong law

They may be the wrong suspects apprehended for the wrong law.

Prosecutors of the Department of Justice (DOJ) said yesterday the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has got it all wrong in its handling of the case of the "Love Bug" virus that damaged computers worldwide last May 4.

Elmer Bautista, chief state counsel of the DOJ, emphasized that while the hacker may have utilized access codes, the intent of suspects Onel de Guzman and Michael Buen differed from that in credit card fraud which is covered under Republic Act 8484.

"Nowhere in the law is computer hacking and malicious text messaging and the effects thereof dealt with, either expressly or impliedly," Bautista wrote in a three-page memorandum which can be interpreted as a DOJ opinion.

And while a hacker's objective is "to destroy files," the intent of credit card impostors is to "defraud," Bautista said.

He added that the charges filed by the NBI against bank employee Reonel Ramones, the first suspect picked up for questioning after a raid on his Pandacan apartment with the full participation of elements from international investigation agencies, don't have a leg to stand on.

Bautista has told Justice Secretary Artemio Tuquero that holding Ramones criminally liable for violating the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998, which the NBI did on May 9, won't do the agency any good.

"While computer hacking and malicious text messaging may have been facilitated by using access codes, the intention of a computer hacker or a sender of malicious text messages is not to defraud but to destroy files, in the case of a computer hacker, or to disseminate false information, in the case of a malicious texter," the DOJ ruled.

With the DOJ ruling, state prosecutors will most likely dismiss the charges filed by the NBI, which it has not yet done. But NBI sources claimed they'll be dropping the charges against Ramones, who is a fall guy owing to the international pressure, not the least coming from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Instead the bureau will now charge De Guzman, the brother of Ramones' girlfriend, who admitted that he may have "accidentally" unleashed the virus, and Buen, who denied involvement in the case, with malicious mischief, which carries a maximum penalty of six years imprisonment.

The NBI has summoned for questioning today six more persons whose names appeared in a diskette reportedly owned by suspected creators of the virus.

NBI executive officer Nelson Bartolome refused to identify the six who are among the 53 names listed on the diskette, and admitted they may not even appear at all in the agency's offices at 2 p.m.

The hackers were reportedly able to steal 2,000 computer passwords here and abroad by unleashing the virus worldwide.

Meanwhile, a congressman joined the clamor yesterday to spare the suspected authors of the "ILOVEYOU" virus of prosecution and instead employ them for more constructive ends.

Rep. Hernani Braganza (Lakas, Pangasinan) said the government should tap the skills of these young people instead of labeling them as criminals.

"In so doing, we are teaching these kids to become productive citizens. We may even be producing world-class computer experts that could help us develop our information technology industry," he said.

But many young and computer-savvy Filipino professionals are wondering what all the fuss is about.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, these sources said they have been using the Internet for free for the past few years and even exchange stolen Internet accounts.

They said that De Guzman is no genius; creative, maybe, but stupid for leaving traces of his identity. --With Jose Aravilla, Jess Diaz, Aurea Calica