US spy told Erap of ouster plot

Ousted President Joseph Estrada was aware of a plot allegedly involving then Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to oust him in conspiracy with military generals in late 2000, a source said yesterday.

The former president learned of his vice president’s moves, including her meetings with generals at a friend’s house in an affluent enclave in Quezon City, from e-mails that he received from Leandro Aragoncillo, a reliable source at the House of Representatives told The STAR.

Aragoncillo, a Filipino-American who served in the United States Marine Corps and who worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation as an intelligence analyst, has pleaded guilty to charges of spying by stealing classified information from computers at the White House and the FBI.

He worked for US Vice President Dick Cheney and his predecessor, Al Gore.

According to the House source, though Estrada was aware of then Vice President Arroyo’s plot to oust him, he just ignored the information from Aragoncillo.

"I think he had full trust in then (Armed Forces) chief of staff Angelo Reyes and then defense secretary Orlando Mercado," the source said.

He said apparently, the information contained in Aragoncillo’s e-mails came from reports prepared by US Embassy officers in Manila and sent to the State Department and the White House in Washington.

In at least one television interview, Mrs. Arroyo had admitted meeting with some generals, including former Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Alberto Braganza, at a friend’s house in Corinthian Gardens, Quezon City before the popular revolt that toppled Estrada.

Among her political allies who attended some of the meetings was former Pangasinan Rep. Hernani Braganza, a relative of the retired general Braganza, who is now mayor of Alaminos town in his home province.

In January 2001, Mercado and the entire leadership of the Armed Forces of the Philippines withdrew their support from Estrada amid a corruption scandal. They joined then Vice President Arroyo at the EDSA Shrine, where she later took her oath as Estrada’s successor.

The House source said the information about the alleged Arroyo plot to oust Estrada, which Aragoncillo sent to the former president, is apparently not being disclosed by US attorneys prosecuting the suspected Filipino-American spy.

"What has been revealed so far were assessment reports that Erap received from Aragoncillo through email when he was already out of office. These reports are about the troubles that Mrs. Arroyo was facing, including grumbling in the Armed Forces, and were sent to Washington, D. C. by US Embassy officers in Manila," the same source said.

He said one report contained the embassy’s "unflattering" assessment of Vice President Noli de Castro.

Aragoncillo has admitted passing information to Filipino opposition leaders plotting to oust President Arroyo.

In court hearings, US prosecutors mentioned Estrada, opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson and former Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella as Aragoncillo’s "unindicted co-conspirators."

Another congressman is being linked to the suspected spy, but he has not been identified.

The House source said Estrada also received US assessment reports about the activities of the Abu Sayyaf, including information on calls made by slain Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Sabaya from his satellite telephone.

"Some of those calls were supposedly made to certain generals in Mindanao. The assessments were damning to these generals," he said.

Sabaya was killed in a joint operation carried out at night by US and Filipino soldiers. There were reports that the encounter was caught on video by US intelligence monitors, but no such footage has been made public.

In a related development, Representatives Salacnib Baterina of Ilocos Sur and Marcelino Libanan of Eastern Samar said the projected Senate inquiry into the Aragoncillo case is intended to clear opposition personalities tagged by the suspected spy.

They said since it is impossible for Aragoncillo to attend the inquiry, the Senate would have to be content with hearing opposition figures.

"We expect the opposition to only give their general denials, which they have been doing since the espionage case was exposed last year," they said.

They added that senators should leave Aragoncillo’s case to US authorities.