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THE PHILIPPINES AS THE WIRETAPPING CAPITAL OF THE WORLD Privilege Speech of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, July 27, 2005  Posted: August 6th, 2008 @ 12:44am I rise again today on an urgent matter of personal and collective privilege with regard to the wiretapped conversations released last week by the governor of Ilocos Sur, the not-so honorable Luis “Chavit” Singson. I take this opportunity to formally and officially deny, as we have done last week, that my father, President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, or any member of our family, supporters and friends, had conspired in any ridiculous plot to assassinate the usurper of the presidency, Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. I also deny that President Joseph Estrada, or any other member of our family, supporters and friends, are engaged in a plot to manipulate election results. We do not have to do that. It should be remembered that in 1998, President Estrada was elected overwhelmingly in honest, orderly and peaceful elections. His overwhelming victory at the polls garnered the highest number of votes ever recorded in the history of presidential elections in our country. Further, and more importantly, it must he underscored that he did not have to cheat nor harass voters to win this mandate. Equally significant, he did not have to steal and use government resources and facilities. Hindi po ninakaw ni Pangulong Erap ang pagkapangulo. All he did was to protect his votes, not through dagdag-bawas or any other unscrupulous activities in collusion with corrupt Comelec officials. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for Mrs. Arroyo and her recorded conversations which have now become not just a scandal that threatens the credibility of our electoral process but a national shame. Having said that, I now turn to the matter of the “Singson” tapes. In an effort to either divert public attention and anger from the “Hello Garci tapes,” or perhaps to ingratiate himself with Malacañang, Governor Singson mindlessly distributed and played before the media alleged wiretapped tapes of conversations between President Estrada and other personalities. In a press conference, which surprisingly included Mr. Ramon RJ Jacinto, Governor Chavit Singson alleged that this would prove that President Estrada is involved in a plan to overthrow the government, to assassinate Mrs. Arroyo, and for cheating in the 2004 elections, or other allegations which seem to change, as fast as they are made. These lies are the very same recipe of tall and concocted stories and fabricated charges he made in 2000. What is more surprising is the presence of RJ Jacinto, a known crony of former President Fidel Ramos who still has to face the people on charges of using his closeness to the powers to bleed several of our financial institutions dry. If we may recall, RJ Jacinto was sued by his business partners for allegedly siphoning off funds from the First Women Credit Corporation (FWCC) to his other companies way back in 1998. Even the Department of Justice at that time ordered the filing of eight counts of estafa against RJ Jacinto and his cohorts for alleged complicity in the fund scam at the FWCC. This led to the creation of an interim management committee approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which was contested by RJ Jacinto but was rebuffed by the Supreme Court in 2003. Ngunit hindi po nakuntento dito si Mr. Ramon Jacinto. To make matters worse, let us not forget the behest loans RJ Jacinto secured from the Philippine National Bank in 1998 which reportedly made the bank lose around P4 billion, I repeat, P4 billion. This prompted my father, President Joseph Estrada, to order the government to run after cronies, particularly RJ Jacinto, who benefited from behest loans from government banks at the expense of our people. Is this why RJ Jacinto was present at the press conference of Governor Singson? Is this payback time because my father would not allow such sordid and anomalous transactions with government banks to go unpunished? Is this why speculations are abound that RJ produced the tapes to stain the reputation of President Estrada? RJ Jacinto cannot simply dismiss the speculations that he was responsible for the production of the so-called “X-tapes.” Tila galit pa yata si RJ Jacinto sa aking ama. Ngunit sana naman ay may konting finesse ang kanyang tangkang paghihiganti. Kung totoo nga na nandoon lamang siya upang i-cover ang press conference ni Chavit, ang tanong ko lamang po ay: Nasaan siya nang nag-press conference si Atty. Samuel Ong? Ayoko namang isipin na namimili si RJ Jacinto ng balitang ilalahad sa madla. Fortunately for us, and unfortunately for Governor Singson and RJ Jacinto, you cannot fool all of the people all the time. Talagang bagay magkasama itong si Governor Singson at si Gng. Arroyo. Parehong may doctorate sa pagsisinungaling. Wala nang masisi ngayon kaya pati si Pangulong Estrada na nakakulong na sa pagkalayu-layong Tanay, guwardiyado, at restricted sa mga dalaw, at walang telepono, pilit na pinaniniwala tayo na kaya pang mag-destabilize. While the voices of President Estrada and other personalities can be heard in the tapes, even a non-technical person can easily discern that these tapes are spurious, spliced, and altered. From the quality of the tapes, the consistency of the sound, and the context and content of the conversations, it is evident that the tapes have been doctored and manipulated. At maganda pa ang CD label na nakadikit. Mukhang production quality talaga. Huwag naman nilang isipin na madaling lokohin ang mga Pilipino. Sabagay, sa tagal na nila tayong niloloko ay natural na ganito ang kanilang iisipin. It did not stake us 22 days to speak up and deny these allegations. Neither did we have to say “I am sorry” and that “it was a lapse in judgment.” We are instead sorry for Gov. Chavit Singson for this equally monumental lapse in judgment and which Malacañang immediately disowned. But my concern today is the proliferation of underhanded tactics employed by people motivated purely by their personal agenda in order to undermine and destroy the names of innocent people. In the name of justice and equity, fairness and good governance, I appeal to this Chamber to have the “Singson” tapes examined by an expert to officially establish its authenticity. In the course of its inquiry, I also appeal to this honorable Body to determine the extent of the alleged participation of the loathsome tandem of Gov. Chavit Singson and RJ Jacinto in this despicable and deplorable attempt to malign innocent people. In doing so, we can dismiss this as another cheap, desperate and pathetic smear campaign. And in the company of my honored colleagues of this Chamber, I reiterate my challenge to Gov. Chavit Singson: I will resign from the Senate immediately and retire from public office if his tapes are proven authentic. Consequently, Gov. Chavit Singson should also resign and retire from public office forever if his tapes are proven to be spurious. Incidentally, resignation is an honorable act, and certainly not contrary to the rule of law. May I stress that it is the right of any citizen to demand the resignation of any public official who has committed a crime. Allow me to emphasize that the more important and compelling reasons for this demand for an inquiry are the implication of the “Singson” tapes, and even the “Hello Garci” tapes. The issue now is not just simply the veracity or authenticity of the recordings, but more importantly is its source, who the purveyors of these activities are, and who authorized them and for what purpose. It is also incumbent upon us to determine the capability of any person, or any agency of government for that matter, to invade the privacy of individuals like President Estrada, of law-abiding citizens like you and me, or even Mrs. Arroyo and her favorite Comelec official. There are disturbing questions like: Are there other recordings and tapes? Are there wiretapping activities being done now? Who are the targets and why? Who are the conspirators? Are these activities committed in the name of national security or, like the Watergate scandal of the Nixon era, intended to protect the personal and, vested interests of powerful and influential persons? We cannot go on using our mobile phones and our landlines without wondering whether someone is listening, regardless of how sensitive or innocuous our conversations may be. How then can we update and strengthen the anti-wiretapping law? Our country now has been referred to as the second most corrupt country in Asia. We have also have been identified as the most murderous place for journalists. Sometime ago, we also earned the label of kidnapping capital of Asia. Now, under the counterfeit rule or misrule of Mrs. Arroyo, we can also earn the label as the wiretapping capital of the world. - - 0 - - |
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Copyright © 2008 Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada
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