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Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Rebel turns state witness, pins rebellion on lawmakers
MANILA -- A member of the communist group was presented by police Monday as a witness against five legislators facing rebellion charges before the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The five party list congressmen were given time to answer the rebellion charges against them but the justice department said it would resolve the case based on existing evidence if the legislators would not hand in their reply within the deadline.
Senior State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco has consolidated two rebellion charges against Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) chairman Jose Maria Sison and other communist leaders with that of the group of party-list Representatives Satur Ocampo, Teodoro Casiño, Joel Virador (Bayan Muna), Rafael Mariano, and Liza Maza -- collectively called the "Batasan 5" -- and their 10 co-accused.
Anakpawis party-list Representative Crispin Beltran, who is already facing rebellion charges before the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) along with recaptured mutineer First Lieutenant Lawrence San Juan, was no longer included in the justice department's preliminary investigation.
The respondents were also named in a separate complaint in connection with the alleged complicity between left-leaning groups and rebel soldiers during an armed uprising last February 24 that prompted President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to declare a weeklong state of national emergency through Proclamation 1017.
Police counsel Virgilio Pablico presented on Monday Jaime Beltran Fuentes, a self-confessed member of the New People's Army -- armed wing of the CPP. Pablico uses aliases "Ka Ron", "Ka Bogs", and "Ka James" and claimed he was chief security of respondent Vicente Ladlad.
Ladlad was one of the 51 people charged by the police's Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management in connection with several rebellious acts since 1986 and for launching a six-year campaign in 2000 to topple the administration.
Fuentes also implicated former Social Welfare Secretary Corazon "Dinky" Soliman, one of the 10 Cabinet officials who turned against President Arroyo at the height of the calls for her resignation last year, in the rebellion case.
Wearing a brown polo shirt over his head and dark glasses to hide his features, Fuentes linked the party list lawmakers to alleged destabilization moves against the government.
After placing him under oath, prosecutors asked the witness to remove the cover off his face but he declined saying he is not yet ready to reveal his identity.
In his statement, Fuentes, who was represented by lawyer Confesor Sansano, said Ladlad, together with their other comrades, used to have clandestine meetings with Ocampo, Mariano, and Beltran to discuss how to legitimize their campaign against the government by launching rallies.
Fuentes said since 1982, he was already a member of the communist group based in Davao City and became the chief security officer of Ladlad in 1986.
He said he become close to Ladlad starting when he was active in the communist movement and this continued when Ladlad became the secretary of the Southern Tagalog communist party committee and the present secretary of the National United Front Commission (NUFC) and the executive director of the Bayan Muna party-list.
As a personal security detail of Ladlad, Fuentes said he was privy to private meetings attended by Ladlad between January and February at various offices such as the Bayan National Office at Barangay Central, QC, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas National Office, and the Bayan Muna Office National Office in Kamuning, QC.
Ladlad also secretly met with officers of the Black and White Movement, including Soliman and a certain Vicky Velez, where it was also discussed how to advance the communist group's program to oust Arroyo, he said.
It was during the meetings, he claimed, when Ladlad came up with a tactical plan along with Ocampo, Casiño, and 15 others to launch the "100 days to oust GMA and D-Day on May 1, 2006."
During the hearing, police lawyer Virgilio Pablico gave assurance to lawyer Romeo Capulong, lawyer of the six party-list legislators, they will not be arrested while the rebellion case is still pending.
Pablico said they are willing to honor the House leadership's custody over the lawmakers.
"I believe we need not effect an arrest since they are under custodial investigation," he said, and cited that House Resolution 1169 had allowed the lawmakers to be placed under House detention.
No one among the respondents appeared during the preliminary investigation.
Appearing in behalf of the defense were lawyers from the Public Interest Law Center (PILC) led by Romeo Capulong and Free Legal Assistance Group's Jose Manuel Diokno, who represented Ladlad.
Also in attendance were Demarree Raval and Joel Pahiga for respondents Rafael Baylosis and Nathaniel Santiago.
Diokno, interviewed after Fuentes gave his testimony, described him as a "professional witness."
"The conspiracy he (Fuentes) is claiming dates back 20 years. There should come a time when the government should stop prosecuting people for the same crime time and again," he said, noting that his client had already been charged with rebellion twice and both instances the cases were dismissed for insufficiency of evidence.
Velasco said his team has no recourse but to submit the rebellion complaints against the five legislators for resolution should they refuse to answer it in the next 15 days.
Prosecutors have claimed that the five legislators snubbed the first day of the preliminary investigation conducted by the justice department at the House of Representatives at 10:30 p.m. Monday.
Prosecutors will conduct the second preliminary investigation on March 28, and the justice department expects that the five would finally cooperate with them during the proceeding.
Should the five refuse to answer the case filed against them by the police's Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), then the DOJ will resolve the matter based on the merits of the case and documents submitted by the police, Velasco said.
During the proceedings, Velasco called on the five congressmen, who remained under the protective custody of House Speaker Jose de Venecia, but they or their counsels were not around.
Velasco eventually left the Batasan without conducting the investigation and did not even bother to wait for the legislators' lawyer.
He said he would just leave copies of the complaints against the five legislators at the Office of Secretary General Roberto Nazareno for him to distribute to the lawmakers.
Nazareno's office however refused to accept it, leaving Velasco no choice but to ask the police to furnish the five congressmen copies of the complaints against them.
Capulong, however, dismissed allegations that his clients snubbed the proceedings.
He claimed that he and the five legislators failed to attend because they had no lawyers with them, saying they were not properly informed of the changes in the venue and time of the preliminary investigation.
"It was a very short notice, we were only informed about the changes yesterday (Monday) morning and all the while we were confident that the investigation will be held in the afternoon and at the DOJ," Capulong said.
The five legislators were in the middle of a "solidarity mass" attended by other prominent opposition figures like former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. and Susan Roces, widow of the late presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr., while the preliminary investigation was being conducted.
Velasco said they decided to transfer the preliminary investigation out of courtesy for the five members of Congress.
But Casiño castigated Velasco and the department he represents for failing to inform them properly of the preliminary investigation's new schedule and for eventually leaving the House without conducting the investigation.
"After having informed the media that they are going here to conduct the preliminary investigation out of respect to the House, they don't even have the courtesy of properly informing us of their action or of waiting for our lawyers to arrive. Is that respect? The DOJ's blatant disregard for proper notice and due process proves that their case lacks merit," Casino said.
The congressman said he and his colleagues had long prepared for the preliminary investigation and were ready to challenge state prosecutors handling the case but unfortunately the chance did not come because Velasco immediately left.
Casiño said his office only received the notice of change of venue and schedule at 9:35 a.m. Monday, less than half an hour before the hearing proper. He added though that Capulong had already informed Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño that despite the short notice, the lawyers for the five congressmen were on their way.
"Despite these glaring irregularities, Zuño ordered the preliminary investigation to start immediately. What does this mean? That they were not really serious in conducting investigations," Casiño added.
House Minority Leader Francis Escudero said the sudden changes in the venue and time of the preliminary investigation only proved that the prosecution has no intention at all to hear the side of the five legislators.
Ocampo downplayed claims made by the DOJ that it has a witness who could corroborate accusations that they conspired with escaped soldiers to plot against the Arroyo administration.
"The House itself could prove our whereabouts on the date they have said we have met with the soldiers. I don't think they have a strong case against us," he added.
Masa hit the police and the justice department for "complex tissue of ridiculous lies, done without research."
The DOJ intends to show that on February 20, the five congressmen were in Batangas to meet with coup plotters, she said.
She added, however, that House records would show that she and her colleagues were here at the House of Representatives, and not in Batangas. (ECV/DBP/Sunnex)
(March 14, 2006 issue)
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