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Thursday, June 02, 2005
'Jueteng bagman' of Arroyo son to appear in Senate probe
* Inquiry set on Monday
* Senate president wants justice head to inhibit from jueteng inquiry
* Justice secretary clarifies position on culpability of jueteng witness
* Bishop says he told Arroyo to get rid of jueteng long before
* Palace to come up with more aggressive campaign v. jueteng
THE Senate committees on games and amusement and on public order and illegal drugs has set for Monday the resumption of its joint inquiry on the illegal numbers game jueteng and jueteng payola allegedly received by legislators and police officials.
This time, the alleged bagmen of presidential son and Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel Arroyo and Batangas Governor Armand Sanchez, an alleged jueteng operator, have been summoned to appear before the Senate bodies looking into the issue.
Senator Manuel "Lito" Lapid, chairman of the games and amusement committee, which is looking into the jueteng issue, said they have already sent invitations to Arthur Naguit alias Catoy, the alleged bagman of Congressman Arroyo; Rene Maglanque, alleged companion of Catoy when the payola was collected; and Batangas Governor Armand Sanchez, an alleged jueteng operator.
Lapid said he will not yet invite suspected jueteng operator Rodolfo "Bong" Pineda, who is a province mate of Lapid, as he explained that Pineda was not mentioned in last Monday's hearing.
This is despite a letter from Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. asking the two committees to invite Pineda, along with Sanchez, to shed light in the Senate inquiry.
On Pimentel's letter, Lapid said he wants to give Sanchez the chance first to shed light on his alleged involvement in jueteng.
Lapid urged Congressman Arroyo and Albay Representatives Krisel Lagman-Luistro, Carlos Imperial and Jose Salceda, who have been accused of receiving jueteng payola, to testify in the Senate investigation.
Wilfredo Mayor, a self-confessed jueteng operator, said Arroyo received jueteng payola of P600,000 monthly when he was still vice governor of Pampanga while Luistro, Imperial and Salceda gets monthly payola of P250,000; P300,000 and P400,000, respectively.
Mayor was a witness presented by staunch anti-jueteng advocate Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz.
Drilon however said as a matter of courtesy to fellow legislators, the congressmen cannot just testify in a legislative inquiry without a formal invitation.
"Technically, one must be invited before he can appear during the hearing. If they manifest that they want to be invited, I would recommend to the two chairs that an invitation be extended to them," Drilon added.
Drilon, meanwhile, asked Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. to inhibit himself from the investigation being conducted by Task Force Jueteng of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and instead let Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño.
Drilon said Gonzalez has already prejudged the ongoing jueteng investigation when he said Mayor was lying when he appeared in the joint Senate inquiry.
Gonzalez also said earlier that Mayor could be charged in court for violation of the anti-illegal gambling law and for perjury.
Drilon earlier asked Gonzalez to stop intimidating other witnesses who wanted to testify in the hearing.
At the DOJ, Gonzalez clarified his position over the admissibility of witnesses in the ongoing investigation of jueteng.
In a three-page letter addressed to Drilon, Gonzales denied he had made an overt threat to prosecute witnesses who admit having engaged in jueteng.
The letter came after Drilon and Senator Panfilo M. Lacson criticized the DOJ's policy over the witnesses now testifying in the ongoing legislative inquiry.
"I hope that you can concede good faith to me because I will do my duty. If my statements offended the members of the Senate committee, I deeply regret that. I assure you that my actions and statements were made in good faith, "Gonzalez said in his letter, copies of which were distributed to newsmen.
Gonzalez assured that if any case reaches the preliminary investigation stage, the agency would request to have a lawyer from the Senate to observe the proceedings, along with representatives from media and non-governmental organizations.
"I assure you Mr. Senate President that we are conducting an honest-to-goodness investigation and this is the reason why I placed the three DOJ undersecretaries in the panel, two of whom are not my appointees plus the chief state prosecutor who is a career official in the prosecution service."
Gonzalez also said the alleged threat to whistle blowers made by him had been misquoted, with Gonzalez now claiming that he did not volunteer his opinion.
"I was asked by members of media what the liabilities of witnesses are who are themselves involved in jueteng, and if found that they are not telling the truth. I told them that my interpretation of the laws applicable here can still make them liable either as principals, accomplices or accessories, and also for perjury or libel, as the case maybe," said Gonzalez.
Gonzalez however insisted that Sections 8 and 10 of Republic Act (RA) 9287 which provides for immunity of witnesses is not a blanket grant of immunity. "The immunity there was not absolute because the very same section should be considered with court rules." Gonzalez added
As this developed two of three persons who were invited by the DOJ to shed light on the jueteng payola issue failed to attend Wednesday's conference at the DOJ.
Earlier summoned by the DOJ to attend the hearing by the task force were Apalit Mayor Tirso Lacanilao of Pampanga, Tempo tabloid editor Roberto Roque and Philippine Star broadsheet reporter Ding Cervantes.
Lacanilao, who, in a news report written by Cervantes claimed that he received between P150,000 to P200,000 as jueteng protection money had fallen ill with hypertension, Gonzalz said.
Tempo senior deskman Robet Roque was likewise absent but was represented by his lawyer Edwin Carillo.
Meanwhile, Archbishop Cruz revealed that when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was still vice president, he told her to "to get rid of jueteng".
"She was here (in Dagupan) two to three times and this was before the revolution and one of the things I was telling her about was (to get rid of) jueteng," Cruz said.
Cruz said President Arroyo promised him to eradicate jueteng.
"She said yes (but) until now, I'm still shouting against jueteng. Matagal na kong humihiyaw laban sa jueteng, apat na taon na. Di pa sya presidente (I have long been fighting jueteng, for four years already. She wasn't even president yet)," the prelate said.
Reacting on reports tagging him as a destablizer, Cruz said if that was what he just wanted to do, he would not go to the extent of presenting witnesses and risk his life since all he wants to do is to eradicate jueteng
"How could I be a destabilizer, how could be my group (against jueteng) be a destabilizer? My cause is not about the presidency but about this national socio-political cancer, about jueteng," Cruz added.
On Mayor, Cruz said the self-confessed jueteng operator was not coached nor told to implicate Congressman Arroyo.
"He was answering without any lawyer, he answered every query, there was not a single question he did not answer, there is no contradiction in all his answers," Cruz said.
In Macalañang, Press secretary and presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said
President Arroyo would soon bare a more intensified plan to eradicate jueteng in the country.
Bunye, in a report by Radyo ng Bayan, reiterated that Arroyo remains firm in her stand to curb the illegal number's game and she has every intention to fully implement the law, regardless of who would be affected.
On claims that Congressman Arroyo is involved, Bunye said the young Arroyo has was lauded for his decision to postpone his trip abroad to face his accusers.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said it is difficult to dismiss the possibility that the jueteng issue and the surfacing of some witnesses is related to destabilization efforts against the administration since those dragged in the issue are close to the President.
"The subjects of the inquiry happened to involve persons close to national leadership but I wouldn't want to say that per se it is that. In its totality, together with other issues, we can very well say that it could be part of an effort to discredit the administration because of persons involved," he said.
He also clarified that Malacañang is neither threatening nor harassing witnesses to prevent them from testifying in any of the investigations.
Ermita said he would personally talk to Secretary Gonzalez to ask him to be more careful in his statements lest Malacañang be accused of muzzling witnesses in the jueteng issue.
Ermita apparently didn't know that Gonzalez has clarified his position on the matter in a letter to Drilon.
Ermita assured that the witnesses against jueteng are protected by the rules of both Houses of Congress whenever they testify as a resource person in any of the hearings.
"Otherwise if they get scared of being charged of perjury, they might clamp down. So hindi siguro dapat ipag-alaala nila (they should not be worried) because when they were invited as resource persons, they know their actuations and what they have to say will be subject to public scrutiny because this is open to media but as to whether they could be hauled to court for perjury I don't think it will happen," he said.
Meanwhile, Senator Lapid said unidentified armed men fired guns in front of his house in Porac, Pampanga, Wednesday.
Lapid said the incident could be connected to the jueteng inquiry.
He said the incident will not stop him from pursuing the investigation nor will he be intimidated so as to inhibit from the inquiry. (JPM/BBP/JMR/MSN)
(June 2, 2005 issue)
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