Friday, June 15, 2007 Mikey Arroyo's chief-of-staff sued for grave threats By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
A CHARGE of grave threats was filed against a lawyer, who reportedly works as the chief-of-staff of Presidential son and Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, after the former allegedly ordered members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) to stop work in a construction site in Baguio at gunpoint Thursday.
This, after the chief-of-staff of Arroyo, who was identified as Lamberto Almeda, was accompanied by about seven heavily-armed PSG members that allegedly forced workers in the complainants' construction site to stop work or be shot, while reportedly brandishing firearms at around 10:45 a.m. on Thursday.
"We believe that members of the PSG are tasked to protect President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her immediate family. Why is it that they are now being used by their personal staff to harass ordinary citizens to get what they cannot get through legal means," complainants Francisco and Zelma Lopez said.
"For all we know, he may only be using the name and influence of Mikey Arroyo to get what he wants, thinking that this will not reach his boss' attention. However, we will make sure that this reaches Arroyo's attention," they said.
They explained that this incident stemmed from their request for the city government to investigate and demolish a concrete fence that was put up by Almeda within a parcel of land in Chapis Village, Bakakeng Central. The lot was awarded to them earlier through a townsite sales application.
"May I respectfully (ask) your good office if Almeda who had put a concrete fence in my TSA application a couple of months ago, had secured a permit from the city. This TSA had been deliberated and awarded through bidding to me (and) I had been paying (for) the tax of the said land (since) a couple of years ago," Francisco Lopez stated in a letter dated Nov. 30, 2006.
In a memorandum submitted on December 6 last year to City Buildings and Architecture Officer (CBAO) Oscar Flores by Engr. Orland Genove, chief of the CBAO Investigation and Demolition Division, he reported that in an ocular site inspection and investigation conducted the day before, the subject concrete hollow block fence and interlink fence of Almeda was found to have an approximate length and height of 47.5 meters and 2 meters, respectively.
"As per hereto attached sketch plan marked as Annex ‘B’, which was submitted by the complainant, it appears that the subject CHB and interlink fence of Almeda is outside his property," Genove disclosed.
He also said verification of records on file with their office revealed that the said fence was not covered by any building permit, "thus, in violation of Section 301 of Presidential Decree 1096 (or the National Building Code)..."
"In this regard, the undersigned recommends that the matter be forwarded to the City Anti-Squatting and Illegal Structures Committee for appropriate action," Genove added.
An indorsement was forwarded by Flores to officer-in-charge Melchor Carlos Rabanes of the City Legal Office the following day with the same recommendation after verifying that "the fence (was built) outside the property of Almeda."
An order for award issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) dated May 7, 2007 stated that the TSA of the Lopez couple was filed on June 13, 1996, and was entered in the records of the Provincial ENR Office as TS 131102-2007-508, after the applicants won in a public bidding conducted last Nov. 11, 2005.
Their complaint was brought to the attention of Senior Superintendent Moises Guevarra, Baguio City Police Office director, after the incident Thursday.
