Johnson said that the espionage charges against Leandro Aragoncillo, a naturalized American who works for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is an internal matter for the US government, and would not affect the close ties between the US and the Philippines.
"Our relationship is very strong and it has been so for a long time. We have a very close relationship and President Arroyo was in the U.S. recently and received a very warm welcome. I think that this sort of thing is very unfortunate but it is a matter for the US legal system. It is an internal issue in the US and it is not something that will affect our foreign relations. We hope and expect that the relationship between the US and the Philippines will continue to thrive as it has in the past," Johnson said.
Johson, however, said that the US government is expected to comment on the case when the investigations on whether Aragoncillo indeed stole secret documents of the US government are completed.
"We would be concerned about any story of this kind that has to do with the national security of the United States. This is a criminal case that is currently under investigation and we do not have any comment on it here. I expect that there will be comment on it in the United States as the case develops. At this stage, it is still under investigation and the accused will have their day on court," Johnson said.
Aragoncillo was arrested last month for allegedly stealing secret documents from the FBI and relaying the information to Philippine officials.
Another Filipino, former Philippine National Police officer Michael Ray Aquino, was also arrested by US authorities for allegedly conspiring with Aragoncillo.
Aragoncillo reportedly got some 100 documents from the FBI, including dossiers on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and other Philippine political figures.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued a similar statement that the espionage case would not affect the relations between the two countries, and said it is an internal matter which the Philippines should not meddle with.
Johnson also brushed aside speculations that the US government had been interfering with Philippine politics, as claimed by a Filipino bishop who cited the information allegedly stolen by Aragoncillo from FBI files.
"The United States and Philippines enjoy very strong relations, and unfounded allegations of this kind are certainly inappropriate and absolutely not correct," Johnson said. (David Cagahastian)
Wycoco meets FBI, justice officials in US on espionage probe
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Reynaldo Wycoco said yesterday that he and other Filipino officials had met with their Washington, DC, counterparts at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US Department of Justice to discuss and coordinate on the investigation of the alleged US espionage ring that involved Filipino nationals.
Wycoco said he was in Washington, DC, together with Justice Undersecretary Ernesto Pineda, primarily to follow up on the Aragoncillo-Aquino espionage case. The two officials brought up with the US officials the queries of Department of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales in relation to the charge sheet earlier filed by US authorities against a spy case principal.
In a statement from Washington, Wycoco said he discussed with the US official and agreed with them on wider areas of law enforcement cooperation, especially in light of the Aragoncillo-Aquino espionage case. He said while the Philippines acknowledged that the spy case is entirely a US concern, the two Filipino officials sought to ascertain whether or not Philippine laws were violated and if Philippine national security had been compromised or affected by the espionage acts. The Filipino officials also sought clarification on the nature of the allegedly stolen US documents, and the identities of other personalities allegedly involved in the case.
Wycoco said the US authorities emphasized in the meeting that they will vigorously pursue this case and will spare no one, considering that the material stolen by the principals were US classified documents, and that the security of the White House itself had been violated. The US officials said the fresh indictment of former PNP official Michael Ray Aquino was proof of this strong resolve.
One special focus of the probe will be the source of funding of the conspirators, and this aspect will investigate the suspicious accounts and businesses of the concerned personalities.
Wycoco said that in a meeting with Philippine Ambassador to the US Alberto del Rosario, the latter said that the US remains fully supportive of the President and her administration, contrary to the insinuations made by some quarters in the Philippines. He said Del Rosario revealed that the US is soon to send its new ambassador to the Philippines to underline this support.
