Monday, October 13, 2008 Filing of sedition raps vs town mayor okayed
RODRIGUEZ town Vice Mayor Jonas Cruz lauded Sunday the Rizal Provincial Prosecutors' Office for approving the filing of sedition charges against Mayor Pedro Cuerpo in connection with the alleged forcible takeover of the municipal hall on March 24, 2008.
The case stemmed from a complaint lodged by Cruz against the mayor and other officials, saying it has "prevented the municipal government from freely discharging its functions and constituted an illegal act that must not be countenanced in a society where the Rule of Law is expected to prevail."
In a statement, Cruz stressed that Cuerpo and his supporters contributed to the uprising, which emboldened their followers, escalating the mayor's demonstration to a seditious level.
Citing these allegations, the provincial Prosecutor's Office affirmed Cruz's complaint, saying sedition is a crime of dissent and protest outside of legal methods.
"Cuerpo's subsequent seizure and holding of the Office of the Mayor (while suspended by the Rizal Provincial Board)," is certainly not a peaceful protest," the Provincial Prosecutor's Office said.
He (Cuerpo) did so "with the intention of preventing the complete execution of his administrative suspension", the prosecutors added.
With the approval of the filing of charges against the mayor, Cruz said he felt vindicated, adding "it is also a vindication for the people of Rodriguez whose welfare was unduly jeopardized by that unfortunate incident."
"This development should convey to all that no public official is above the Law; that all conflicts must be resolved within its supreme boundaries," Cruz further said.
Mayor Cuerpo meanwhile cried foul over the sedition charges filed against him by Cruz, saying he expects more pressure and more charges from his detractors to derail his political plans.
Cuerpo said the alleged harassments being thrown at him by the camp of Cruz were just a smear campaign to stop him from running as governor in the 2010 elections.
He also questioned the timing of the filing of the case against him, saying it was "not surprising" as he is now making his intention to run more visible in Rizal.
"I am just curious why they are making an issue regarding my entry into the municipal hall during the time they had me suspended," Cuerpo said.
"Do I not have the right to answer the concerns aired by my constituents during a public hearing? More so I was invited. I don't think my intention to go to the municipal hall is sedition," the mayor added.
Cuerpo along with six municipal councilors namely Alberto Carasco, Aileen Quien Fernandez, Romelito Bunag, Richard Buizon, and Association of Barangay Captains Chairman Salvador Simbulan Sr. were charged for their forcible entry and illegal occupation at the municipal hall on March 24.
Cuerpo and his supporters have barricaded themselves inside the municipal hall after the mayor was suspended in a standoff with the Provincial Government on the operation of the 14-hectare sanitary landfill, which is being used by Metro Manila as a garbage dumpsite.
Cruz and three other complainants filed the sedition case at the San Mateo Regional Trial Court. However, Cuerpo and his companions posted bail on Friday.
Cruz said Cuerpo's entry inside the municipal hall was illegal.
The local executive chief, who is in his last term as mayor of Rodriguez, clarified that he has no intention of overthrowing the government or do anything outside of the legal means as among the premises of sedition.
"I have no intention of overthrowing the government whatsoever; not even the conduct of official business at the municipal hall as the facts would bear out," he said.
When asked if he has any plans of filing counter charges against his complainants, Cuerpo casually said public service is his primary concern.
"I will not waste my precious time on such nonsense. I will just concentrate on serving my constituents and face whatever legal case they want to file against me. It is very apparent that these cases are nothing but acts of harassment meant to cow us into submission and give up our fight over the landfill issue, more so now when we caught them poisoning our rivers," Cuerpo pointed out.
To recall, Cuerpo and some 300 of his supporters barricaded the 19-hectare provincial sanitary landfill for blatant violation and disregard of environmental laws for dumping the facility's leachate directly to the Montalban river last month.
A team led by the police and local officials conducted a raid at the dumping site and witnessed the actual dumping of wastewater to the river.
But the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) cleared the landfill's operator of liability after a test found on the river's water found it negative for leachate. (AH/Sunnex)
