Ex-ISAFP officer grilled at CA hearing over ‘Hello, Garci’ scandal

A military general who was once part of the Armed Forces' intelligence unit was quizzed anew on his involvement in the “Hello, Garci” scandal when he faced the Commission on Appointments (CA) on Wednesday.

Brig. Gen. Pedro Sumayo, Jr. had appeared in a 2011 Senate probe on election fraud to shed light on the military intelligence operation “Project Lighthouse,” which supposedly kept tabs on threats to the Arroyo administration during the 2004 elections.

During the CA committee on national defense hearing, Sumayo, who was a lieutenant colonel in 2011, was grilled by Senators Panfilo Lacson and Gringo Honasan about the supposed wiretapping operations of MIG21, a unit of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) that specializes in communications in surveillance.

Sumayo said the unit did “interception of communications” such as phone calls, “directed against the enemies of the state,” including the Abu Sayyaf and the New People’s Army.

Asked whether the ISAFP unit also wiretapped the phones of then-President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Virgilo Garcillano, Sumayo said: “I am not aware of any wiretapping.”

At one point, Lacson warned Sumayo that he was under oath.

The Hello, Garci scandal refers to the alleged wiretapped conversations supposedly between Arroyo and Garcillano, where vote rigging in the 2004 elections was discussed. 

“Paano napasok yung Comelec official at alleged boses ng presidente ng Pilipinas? Paano napunta sa parameters ng wiretapping against the enemy of the state? What are we trying to accomplish in accidentally wiretapping the President of the Philippines?” Honasan asked.

Sumayo said he wasn’t aware of the “political nature” of Project Lighthouse, but that he asked that the number of Garcillano be removed as he was not on the list of targets.

“It was not authorized and not part of the operation,” said Sumayo.

Lacson told Sumayo, now assistant deputy chief of staff for communications at AFP’s Electronics and Information Systems, that the incident should never happen again.

“Never again should ISAFP or any unit of the AFP allow themselves to be used. Whoever is occupying Malacañang, huwag na tayo magamit. Let’s remain professional because after all, we serve the country, not a particular political group,” the senator said.

Sumayo gave his assurance to the CA, saying his job is “to defend the network and infrastucture of the AFP.”

“For the sake of the country and our children, it is crucial. Do what you are promising,” Honasan told him.

Sumayo’s promotion was approved at the CA plenary, along with 28 others, with no objection. —KBK, GMA News