Disclosure of Classified Information—Leandro Aragoncillo Developments

There has been an extremely interesting development in the national security crimes case surrounding Leandro Aragoncillo.

Mr. Aragoncillo has pleaded guilty to charges that he “passed classified information to plotters trying to overthrow Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo while working as a military aide to vice presidents Al Gore and Dick Cheney, and later while at the FBI.”^[1] The officials to whom he gave information were not identified by name, but he did implicate Michael Ray Aquino, who was arrested with Mr. Aragoncillo in September.^[2]

He pleaded guilty to four charges in total, including conspiracy to transmit national defense information, which we discussed on Tuesday. Other details of his guilty plea are not yet available.

Elsewhere, a judge in Manila has ordered the arrest of Mr. Aquino and Cezar Mancao II “in connection with the murders of public relations practitioner Salvador ‘Bubby’ Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000.”^[3] In Judge Myra Garcia-Fernandez’s three-page order, Senior Police Officer 2 Allan Villanueva has also been ordered to be arrested for his alleged involvement in the deaths of Mssrs. Dacer and Corbito.^[4] With Mr. Aquino having been indicted and arrested in the US for his alleged role in the Aragoncillo affair, and Mr. Mancao being arrested as a material witness, it will be some time before the Philippines will be able to have them extradited. It is possible that Mr. Aquino, if he ends up pleading guilty or being convicted, will be deported.

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[1] Jeffrey Gold, Former FBI Agent Spied for Philippine Rebels, Associated Press (via kdka.com), May 4, 2006 [hereinafter AP1]. See also Jeffrey Gold, Former FBI Analyst Pleads Guilty to Spying, Associated Press (via Yahoo!), May 4, 2006.
[2] AP1, supra.
[3] Jose Rodel Clapano, Court Orders Arrest of Aquino, Mancao, Philippines Star, May 5, 2006.
[4] Id.