One of the interesting parts of Engr. Jun Lozada’s testimony today was the wiretapping on his phones and those of the Senate arresting team.

Last year, officials of Philippine telcos testified that mobile phone wiretaps are already possible, provided the right equipment is used. They even claimed that the wiretaps may be done even without the cooperation or knowledge of the telcos.

In Italy, the authorities have massively wiretapped Italians for many years now, spurring an industry for phone encryption services.

Thousands were wiretapped as of 2005 that the Italian telcos were complaining that the limit for such intrusions have been breached as well.

The Senate must be able to find out if wiretap mechanism and equipment actually exist in the country, and whether the government has control over them.

Will Senate and Lozano petitions for writ of habeas data provide us hope?