Were Smart Or Globe In On ISAFP Wiretapping?

I have been wondering to what extent Smart Telecommunications, Inc. and Globe Telecomms, Inc.—the two big cellphone Service Operators in the Philippines-- may have been involved in the alleged wiretapping operations conducted by the ISAFP last year.

(DON'T EXPECT THIS QUESTION TO BE ASKED OR DISCUSSED IN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA WHICH ARE BASICALLY FLOATING ON A SEA OF MOOLAH FROM THE CELLULAR SUPERPOWER RIVALRY.)

PERTINENT TESTIMONIAL FACTS FROM YESTERDAY’S SENATE HEARING:

(1) GENERAL RODOLFO CANIESO, former Director of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, testified before the Senate Defense Committee of Sen. Rodolfo Biazon yesterday that it was the voice of his son in one of the illegally recorded cellphone conversations submitted to the Philippine Senate by Sammy Ong, former Deputy Director of the National Bureau of Investigations. At the time his cellphone was wiretapped, Gen. Canieso was working for the Presidential campaign of Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, and his son was reportedly running his cellphone communications for him.

(2) COMMODORE REX ROBLES, a Member of the Feliciano Commission tasked to study the 2003 Oakwood Mutiny, also testified that his voice appears in the recordings supplied to Sammy Ong by T/Sgt. Vidal Doble of the same Intelligence Services of the AFP. Robles was apparently wiretapped during a call he thought was going to the office of Senator JUAN PONCE ENRILE, but which was actually routed to that of former Senator GRINGO HONASAN and accidently recorded as part of the wiretapping operation.

(3) MICHAEL ANGELO ZUCE, a political operative of the Arroyo campaign working for Secretary for Political Affairs JOEY RUFINO gave perhaps the most interesting testimony yesterday (some of it a repeat of earlier testimonies he has given to the Senate Defense Committee). He said that it was he who picked up a brand new cellphone for delivery to his boss, VIRGILIO GARCILLANO, from the home in a posh Greenhills-area home of Mr. & Mrs. BONG and BABY PINEDA (reputed Jueteng Lord and political supporters of Pres. Arroyo) early in 2004. Noticing that the box and unit had been opened, Zuce was told that a SIM CARD had already been installed in the cellphone for Garci, which would be used as hotline to the President during the election period. This is important to the question I am asking in this post because the need for cooperation from the Network Service Provider or Service Operator depends critically on whether the SIM CARD of a cellphone to be wiretapped is physically available to the wiretappers prior to its actual use. As apparently was the case in the cellphone given to Virgilio Garcillano. It is possible that THE ISAFP DID NOT NEED COOPERATION OF SMART OR GLOBE, if Zuce’s testimony is true. According to SPYLIFE.COM --"If cooperation with network operator is not possible but there is an access to mobile phone, information can be extracted directly from SIM card, Extraction time – 15 Min., SIM card" provided you add a specialized scanner.

CHAIRMAN RODOLFO BIAZON -- after yesterday’s televised hearing at the Philippine Senate, gravely observed that elements of the Philippine Military, namely the Intelligence Service of the AFP, have evidently been used to commit culpable violations of Republic Act 4200 (The Antiwiretapping Law) for partisan political purposes.

There are further technical details forthcoming here at Philippine Commentary on these technical points. (There ARE laws that are beyond the reach of GMA, JDV and the Lakas Political Mafia's consiglieri you know. I refer of course to the Great Artificer's Laws of Physics, under which even the wiliest capos regime may be indicted, prosecuted and convicted.