PNP bares Wiretap experts for hire

A well-placed officer of the Philippine National Police (PNP) warned yesterday that advanced wiretapping capabilities might have already slipped out of the control of law enforcers and into the hands of people tapping the phone lines of politicians running in the midterm elections.

The official, requesting anonymity, revealed this in an interview with television journalist Korina Sanchez in hopes that the disclosure will prod the PNP hierarchy to investigate the matter and ensure that such capabilities will be preserved for the exclusive purpose of aiding law-enforcement.

Private entities are prohibited by the anti-wiretapping law from acquiring phone-bugging devices, since use of this technology will allow unscrupulous entities to secretly hear private conversations on landline or mobile phones.

The source said people who seek to acquire the know-how and capability for wiretapping outside of police functions can offer their services for large fees to politicians who want valuable information about their opponents or enemies.

Sanchez initiated an in-depth report on the issue of wiretapping for the ABS-CBN television network’s news and public affairs program "Bandila" and shared the information her source disclosed with The STAR.

She had an exclusive interview with the official yesterday afternoon that was broadcast last night. Sanchez’s research team began investigating reports that private individuals were able to procure hi-tech wiretapping devices from overseas for a still undetermined purpose.

The issue of wiretapping gained prominence anew after the discovery of wiretapping and recording devices inside the telephone switchbox servicing a phone line in former President Corazon Aquino’s residence on Times street in Quezon City. The crude wiretapping device was attached directly to Aquino’s personal telephone line.

The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) has begun an investigation into the matter, since the tapping of telephone lines should be limited to law enforcers and duly covered by a warrant and court order. Police investigators also said private groups with vested interests might have acquired wiretapping capabilities. 

The PNP hierarchy said wiretapping that is not covered by a warrant and court order is illegal and that such activities violate the civil liberties enshrined in the 1987 Constitution – particularly the right to privacy of communications.

The PNP insider claimed to have training with systems to bug both landline and mobile phones, as well as calls from foreign countries to both types of telephones. 

He cited the alleged bugging of the Aquino residence as a warning that indicates the "spilling out" of wiretapping capabilities outside the sphere of police investigative work.

The source also said the illicit wiretapping is meant to aid politicians in gaining information against their opponents by monitoring their "movements" and "flow of funds."         

"Wiretapping could even be used to blackmail individuals," the source said.

The insider said that, while the bugging device surrendered to police authorities by the employees of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) last week appears crude, "the one who placed it in there had chosen an old way to bug Aquino’s phone line since it can still serve the purpose while ensuring that the buggers could not immediately and directly be traced."

"Those who planted that device could not be directly traced because (they) had no direct connecting lines to (them)," the source said. "The bugger would only have to return to the device every now and then to get the tape from the recorder."

"However, wiretapping technology nowadays has gained the capability of directly intercepting and retrieving even text messages on (cellular phones)," the insider added. "It can even conduct surveillance of countless number of phone lines – land-based or mobile phones simultaneously by just connecting to cell sites."

"The wire-tapping technology – which the police force needs in its war against criminal elements like terrorist groups, kidnapping, (carjacking) and smuggling syndicates – should be reserved for the exclusive and lawful use of the PNP," the source said. – Karlo Baylosis