Saturday, March 17, 2007 Kings seek dismissal of Radaza complaint
BROTHERS Richard and Rafael King submitted to the Lapu-Lapu City Pro-secutor’s Office as evidence a letter in 2002 that they had allegedly sent to Mayor Arturo Radaza.
The letter told Radaza that the Kings cannot afford the “P7.5 million that he asked (from them) in exchange for a building permit.”
The Kings also asked the prosecutor’s office to dismiss the anti-wiretapping complaint that Radaza filed against them, as it has not been established that the videotape was illegally obtained.
Footage
They said the place where the footage was taken is outside Lapu-Lapu City so the city prosecutor has no jurisdiction over the matter.
Last March 2, Radaza filed charges of grave threats and violation of the Anti-Wiretapping Law against the Kings.
Radaza submitted a video footage of a conversation between the Kings and contractor Nelson Yu, wherein the latter revealed that the mayor asked for three percent of the P500 million worth of government projects awarded to Yu.
Mark Weigel, Radaza’s witness, alleged that the Kings gave him the DVD and told him to show it to the mayor so that he will stop pursuing cases against the Kings.
This prompted the mayor to charge the Kings with grave threats.
But the brothers asked why it took Radaza almost a year to file the case.
They said Radaza only sued them after they filed a complaint against him before the anti-graft office for allegedly demolishing their property in Barangay Agus.
Demand
The letter dated Oct. 8, 2002 that Rafael reportedly sent to Radaza read, “I was shocked when you demanded P7.5 million in exchange for the building permit construction of our project. The amount was shocking and the threat that you will have our property expropriated if I do not pay you 10 percent of the total project cost of the intended project was even more disgusting.”
Sun.Star Cebu tried but failed to contact City Attorney Vincent Joseph Lim for his reaction to the letter.
The Kings also denied Weigel’s allegation that they handed him a DVD to show to the mayor.
They said the allegation that the footage was taken from their office in Davao, “was obviously taken from an erroneous news report.”
Consent
If the Kings were the source of the videotape, Radaza would have known that it was taken in the Kings’ office in Mabolo, Cebu City and not in Davao City, the brothers said.
The Kings also alleged that Weigel’s affidavit is hearsay, as it was not signed by City Prosecutor Evangeline Gicale nor has it been signed before any prosecutor.
Lawyer Deolito Alvarez said Radaza was not in the footage where the Kings and Yu were talking.
“So how can he establish the lack of consent?” said Alvarez.
The Kings said the security camera was already there as part of building security.
Gicale still has to resolve the criminal complaints against the Kings. (OCP)
