Aragoncillo’s can of worms

On the day the Aragoncillo spying case broke once again in headline news, my daughter Veronica contacted me for some local numbers. CNN had put the story on high priority. Why the renewed interest? It may be because the ongoing investigation revealed that it had better concentrate on alleged Filipino spy’s employment in the White House under Vice-President Dick Cheney. He may have been interested only in the Philippine file, but supposing he had seen other more sensitive documents?

We will not have to wait long to find out just what classified documents he allegedly filched while working in the White House. While Filipinos may be more interested on who his co-conspirators were in Manila, I am not surprised that the Americans would focus their concern on the extent of his alleged "spying’ at the very heart of the American establishment. This is said to be the first White House spying case. The security of the seat of the presidency of the only superpower of the world has been compromised.

So with graver implications of his role, why has he not yet been indicted like his partner in crime, former Lacson aide, Michael Ray Aquino? The only reason I can think of is he may have struck a plea bargain with the US authorities in exchange for a frank and thorough confession on what he exactly saw while he foraged through the secret files looking for Philippine reports. That is the more sensitive aspect of this sordid episode.

Aragoncillo is an intelligent man and his activities may have gone beyond what has been called ‘routine’ profiling’ of leaders in other countries. Obviously he had ready buyers for the Philippine stuff but to the Americans he may have also found a ‘can of worms.’ Classified documents from Vice President Dick Cheney’s office where he worked is certainly a treasure trove of information more ‘precious’ than the Philippine files.

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I do not think this is the first time Philippine opposition got hold of confidential files on American profiling of leaders. During the Marcos years I know that some of the ammunitions used against Marcos ie his hidden millions, Imelda’s profligacy etc came from similar sources although not in the same manner as a Filipino getting into the inner sanctum of the White House. More often these were leaked out by the spying agencies themselves or their friends to ingratiate themselves to a political challenger.

Sometime after I finished writing the ‘Untold Story of Imelda Marcos’ a well-known opposition figure then visited me to listen to a ‘tape recording of the Malacañang residents daily life’. I could use it, he said, ‘because it could give me additional information to draw out the ‘character of Imelda Marcos.’

I listened to the tapes. These included, among other things, taped conversations between Imelda and a Blue Lady, Imelda scolding an ill-mannered secretary, Irene gossiping with a friend. The tape was obviously made during Marcos’ term when the first family first moved to Malacañang. They were mostly the stuff of daily life in the Palace. Interestingly there was also a conversation between Rafael Salas and a Blue Lady. How this was done, I don’t know. The topic was about Imelda’s rawness and how she was ‘like a pearl in her shell that had to be pried loose.’

Interesting though these tidbits were I really did not think the tape was important to my writing of the book. The drafts were done and it centered on her life of poverty before she met Marcos. What intrigued me was the source of those tapes which were obviously done in the Palace. Who did it and for what? Ah well, that may be long past but things have not changed. The Palace is spooked and I am not talking about ghosts. I suspect that the source of the ‘Garci tapes’ was no different.

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What makes the Aragoncillo spy case more interesting is that it did not come from the usual purveyors of inside information. It came from inside the bowels of the White House itself. That is quite different. On the first there was a selection of documents or information to be leaked. But in the Aragoncillo case, it may not have been the case, and America has its reasons to be disturbed. Leaking information is one thing but filching confidential documents from the White House storage is another. But if Americans are worried about what Aragoncillo saw shouldn’t we also be worried about what any taped conversations in Malacañang for whatever reason. Aragoncillo’s can of worms may have been as worthless as the taping of Marcoses’ daily life. The trouble was he got it while working the White House. That is almost as incriminating as taping Malacañang!

I don’t know why we should be anxious to know exactly who Aragoncillo was working for in the Philippines . In the days following his and Aquino’s arrest, several opposition figures volunteered themselves until Justice Secretary Gonzales warned them that they may be incriminating themselves prematurely. These days it is all silent in the Western . . . oops opposition front.

In any case, the money trail of how the information was paid to Filipinos could me most interesting. It may shed more light on the months long ‘investigation of drug money’ in which the same senator was accused but the Senate discontinued without letting us know exactly what their findings were. We may even know what and whose bank accounts were used.

As if this was not enough, the Bubby Dacer murders will finally be reopened now that Michael Ray Aquino has resurface. Aquino and Mancao suddenly disappeared before they could face the court. How were they spirited away? How could this be done when a wanted order had been issued against them? Tsk. Tsk.

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Miscellany. From the Embassy of Finland comes an invitation to an exhibit on the Alvar Aalto House: Timeless Expressions at the Ayala Museum on Monday, 24th of October 2005 at 6:30. My daughter architect Marta Welsh tells me this is must-see exhibition. Finnish architect Alvar Aalto’s houses are well-known as an expression of his philosophy that "architecture should be guided by the wish that every building, every work of architecture be a symbol of the aspiration to build a paradise on earth for ordinary mortals." That is something to see.

From the new Ambassador of Israel, Mme. Yehosua Sagi an invitation to an evening of music with Juval Avital, an accomplished Israeli guitarist and concert artist whose range of musical styles and genres includes classical repertoire and contemporary music with eastern and western approaches on Sunday, October 23 at 7 p.m. at the Ambassador’s residence.

I missed seeing the "Mangal Pandey the Rising", an Indian historical film recently shown in Manila. Time says "This film was keenly anticipated, not least because it stars Aamit Khan, widely considered Bollywood’s best actor. He has created a thinking hero of a kind rarely seen in Indian films."

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My e-mail is [email protected]