Wiretapped information from foreign sources linking Filipinos to crimes such as illegal drugs is a violation of Philippine law and the state’s policy to protect its citizens, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Thursday.
Lacson likened the situation to a person who bought marijuana in a country where it is legal, but is arrested for violating the Philippine Dangerous Drugs Act once he or she brings it into the Philippines.
Lacson, a former chief of the national police, contested Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra’s pronouncement that if the wiretapped conversation came from a country where wiretapping is not illegal, it “may be passed on to the Philippine government and considered admissible in Philippine courts.”
“Mr. Secretary, possession of wiretapped material is also an offense,” Lacson said in a post on his Twitter account Thursday.
Under Republic Act 4200 or the Anti-Wiretapping Law, it is unlawful for any person not authorized by all the parties to any private communication or spoken word to secretly record such communication.
Section 2 of the law adds it is also unlawful “to knowingly possess” records or copies of any communication or spoken word secured via wiretapping.
Violators of the law, even those who aid or permit such wiretapping, face imprisonment of up to six years. Offenders who are public officials face perpetual absolute disqualification from public office.
Lacson also said Malacañang’s claim that its information on politicians involved in illegal drugs was based on wiretaps done by foreign governments does not make things right, except if those who conducted the wiretapping were armed with judicial authorization.
He noted that under Art. III, Sec. 3 of the 1987 Constitution, the privacy of communication and correspondence “shall be inviolable except upon lawful order of the court, or when public safety or order requires otherwise as prescribed by law.”
“If we allow such wiretaps from foreign governments, is it now a government policy to condone invasion of privacy of its own nationals by other countries?” he asked.