TECHNICAL sergeant Vidal Doble recently came into the limelight after being tagged by Atty. Samuel Ong as the one who gave the former National Bureau of Investigation deputy director the master copy of the alleged taped conversations between Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano and Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
An agent of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) assigned with the Military Intelligence Group-21, Doble is now in the custody of the intelligence agency after being "rescued" from the San Carlos seminary last Monday. Since then, Doble has declined to comment on his involvement in the wiretapping case even as the ISAFP has likewise refused to provide the media with details of his background.
Who is T/Sgt. Doble? Media reports have so far revealed scant information. The Philippine Star reported on Tuesday that he was with the ISAFP when he was reassigned to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) headed by Panfilo Lacson in 1998. He is said to be known for his technical expertise in intelligence operations, a fact attested to by a civilian agent with whom he had worked during his PAOCTF days.
On condition of anonymity, the agent has agreed to share with the PCIJ what he knows about Doble.
Given his expertise in counter-intelligence and technical monitoring from his long years in the AFP, Doble, our informant says, worked with the task force's Technical Surveillance Division (TSD) where he was assigned to several high-level security projects sanctioned by Lacson as task force chief or by then Pres. Joseph Estrada. Along with other TSD members who were the PAOCTF's collectors of information, his tasks consisted of setting up technical equipment or mobile type of operations, making bugging devices, securing safe houses, and manning the surveillance operations round-the-clock.
The agent says Doble, who used the codename "Double," was very crucial to the success of operations against kidnapping cases and other organized crimes, including terrorism.
"T/Sgt. Doble always followed the standard procedures or rules. He moves when he knows he has legitimate orders and merit. In his reports, he discusses every possibility that could benefit the interest of the country and the people. That is how he is different from others. Though he belonged to the rank and file, he always made the best of his craft," he says.
Though he never really knew Doble personally, our source says he had on several occasions joined him in friendly gatherings where he observed him to be a quiet man, funny at times, and selective with those he speaks with. "I know he has a kind heart who never wanted riches but only dreams of providing his family a life of dignity."
Belying claims by ISAFP that it does not have the capacity to conduct wiretapping, our source says sophisticated surveillance equipment bought in 2000 went to the intelligence agency and the Presidential Security Group (PSG), with one unaccounted equipment still in the custody of Lacson's men. He also confirms that the ISAFP has two contending factions — one in favor of the administration, the other in favor of the opposition — with "both using information at the expense of ISAFP and the AFP."
The civilian agent thinks Doble may have been part of the wiretapping "regardless of political affiliation," knowing him to be among the reformists in the military who are silently moving to fight corruption. However, he also says Doble's "turnaround" is understandable, albeit disheartening.
"When we speak of the chain of command, I fear that we will lose the very fight we both wanted. He is a soldier, and he will obey orders even if it's contrary to the interest of truth. It works that way back there," he says.
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