| Submit your comments on this article |
| Southeast Asia |
| Lacson: Recording distributed by ex-Estrada lawyer unaltered |
| 2005-06-10 |
| A TAPE identical to one circulated by a former lawyer of deposed president Joseph Estrada, which allegedly indicates that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo cheated in the 2004 elections, has not been altered, Senator Panfilo Lacson told GMA Network's Mike Enriquez. In a taped interview aired on GMA Network's dzBB radio late Friday, Lacson said he had a tape that was identical to the one being distributed by Alan Paguia sent to Australia for analysis. Lacson said he has received the first portion of an expected two-part report. The first part of the report stated that the recording did not appear to have been altered. The second portion of the report would deal with the identity of those whose voices were recorded, he said. Lacson said he sent a sample recording of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's voice along with the recording to determine this. He said he expects the second part of report soon. Lacson did not disclose the identity of the firm or the fees it charged. The former chief of the Philippine National Police said that he has not heard the contents of a tape brandished by former National Bureau of Investigation deputy director Samuel Ong, but said that if the recording turns out to be an exact copy of Paguia's recording, then the report he received would indicate that it had not been altered. Furthermore, he is meeting with his supporters now to determine whether to join protests set for Saturday. Earlier Friday, Ong said the tape he had in his possession was the source of allegedly wiretapped conversations between the President and persons believed to be election officials that had earlier been released by the Palace. The Palace said that the recordings, one of which was said to have been altered to directly implicate Arroyo in electoral fraud, were to have been used in a destabilization plot against the government. Ong said his lengthier tape would conclusively prove that Arroyo had cheated in the May 2004 elections. He said the tape had been given to him by contacts in the military intelligence service and that an inventory check would show that the tape was missing. He also claims to have a videotape of a military intelligence agent attesting to the authenticity of the tape. Officials of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines however said that that no tape had turned up missing in their inventory and that they do not engage in wiretapping. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #1 Ping baby Lacson was also running for Pres in 2004 and ran the secret police when he was the chief. I suppose there will be a large crowd, everyone loves a coupe um I mean a parade! Maybe Ping will have Jollie Bee there to get folks to show up. |
| Posted by: 49 pan 2005-06-10 21:48 |