Arroyo sidesteps US espionage case involving Philippine officials

Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said on Monday that she will keep her hands off the espionage case filed by the United States against Michael Ray Aquino, a former senior official of the Philippine National Police, and Leandro Aragoncillo, an intelligence analyst of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"That's an American case so I have no comment about it," Arroyo said at a show on a local TV news channel.

The president said media claims that the United States was spying on the Philippines were speculative.

"I don't want to fall into the trap of going into the agenda of my detractors. I have my agenda which is to do what we have to do for the country and I'm focused there," she noted.

Some Philippine government officials including leading opposition senator Panfilo Lacson admitted receiving information from Aquino and Aragoncillo.

But the FBI has yet to reveal the identities of the three officials who obtained the confidential information allegedly acquired illegally by the two accused.

Aside from Lacson who is identified with Aquino, former Philippine president Joseph Estrada, his son, senator Jinggoy Estrada and senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. admitted receiving e- mails from Aragoncillo.

However, they said there was nothing confidential about the correspondences forwarded to them. They also denied reports that they were asking Aquino and Aragoncillo to steal documents from the United States to destabilize government or oust president Arroyo.

The Philippine department of foreign affairs said it would extend assistance to Aquino being a Filipino citizen. Aragoncillo is a Filipino who has acquired US citizenship.

Source: Xinhua