MANILA, Philippines?National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera on decried the military surveillance of his home in Quezon City as harassment, even as he accepted the apology of the Philippine Navy after one of its personnel was caught casing his home early Thurday morning.

"It?s kind of alarming,?? Lumbera told reporters Thursday after attending the awarding rites for outstanding civil servants at Malacanang?s Ceremonial Hall.

?If they apologized, tatanggapin ko dahil wala naman akong dahilan para hindi tanggapin (I will accept because there is no reason not to accept it),? Lumbera said in an interview in his Quezon City home.

The Philippine Navy confirmed that Guerrero was an enlisted personnel undergoing training. It has since apologized to the national artist and said that the supposed surveillance did not target Lumbera but was actually part of a random selection for intelligence-gathering training.

At the same time, the national artist said he would not be pressing any charges against Corporal Hannival Guerrero, who was caught by security personnel at Mapayapa Village for taking pictures of Lumbera?s home at 6 a.m. today.

Lumbera lashed back at the administration saying it was worse than the martial law time. He said he was not surprised that his home was being surveyed by the military, citing the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as ?very repressive.?

Lumbera, who was an activist during martial law time under then president Ferdinand Marcos, said that Arroyo?s administration was worse than martial law because unlike in the martial law time, the Arroyo administration had no clear guidelines on what was right and wrong.

Nevertheless, he said he was unfazed with the incident but would take extra security measures for him and his family.

Early Thursday morning, Lumbera?s household help saw three men taking pictures of his home at the Mapayapa Village, and alerted the subdivision?s security men.

The security men caught up with one of the men, who yielded ID cards showing he?s connected with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and who claimed they were taking pictures of the vacant lot next to Lumbera?s home, the artist said.

Lumbera theorized it could be connected with his active participation in protests against President Macapagal-Arroyo?s personal choices of this year?s National Artists or it could be a pure harassment.

?If it?s connected with the National Artists award, that?s pretty harmless operation, perfectly legal protest against Malacanang. It could also be a harassment tactic of the military,? he said.

Artists, including Lumbera, had protested and filed a petition against Arroyo's proclamation of Cecile Guidote-Alvarez, filmmaker and comics novelist Carlo J. Caparas, fashion designer Jose ?Pitoy? Moreno, and architect Francisco ?Bobby? Mañosa as National Artists, claiming they were not in the shortlist of the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

The Supreme Court last Tuesday temporarily restrained Malacañang from conferring the National Artists awards, and ordered a status quo until it has ruled on the dispute.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who handed out Civil Service Commission awards to outstanding government officials and employees along with Lumbera and CSC chairman Ricardo Saludo, said he had asked the police to look into this.

Citing a check by his staff, he said that the detained man, Hannival Guerrero, was not in the master list of the Philippine Navy, contrary to reports he?s a Marine.

?It appears that guy has more than one ID. Let?s say three IDs. That means that guy must really be involved in something irregular,? he told reporters.

?So I told Dr. Lumbera but in a joking mode, ?Doctor, somebody must have taken your picture because Chair Saludo wants to make sure Malacañang has your photo and will let you in immediately,?? he added, chuckling.

Since the detained man yielded two IDs showing he?s connected with the AFP and the AFP cooperative, Lumbera surmised that the surveillance was a ?military operation.?

?Now we?re in a quandary what these people are, but I?m positive this is a military operation,? he said. ?If true he?s not from the Navy, it?s a dead end. If the military denied he?s part of military establishment, there?s nothing we can do.?

Lumbera said he hoped the police would get to the bottom of the surveillance attempt, and would take action based on the outcome of the investigation.

?I don?t know what our next step will be. They will hand him over to the PNP. Hopefully, the PNP gets his statement, including why he?s taking photos of our house,? he said.