|
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Murder raps v. Ocampo 'redundant': lawyer
MANILA -- The lawyer of incarcerated Bayan Muna party-list Representative Satur Ocampo on Friday insisted that the multiple murder charges against the lawmaker before the Leyte court is already covered by the rebellion case filed at the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC).
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007 Coverage
During Friday's oral arguments, lawyer Romeo Capulong told magistrates of the Supreme Court (SC) that his client should not be made to suffer the rigors of a court case twice over since the character of the Leyte case is synonymous to the rebellion charge filed earlier this year by the government against him.
Capulong claimed that "circumstances warrant the immediate action" of the high court on the petition, even without exhausting all administrative and judicial remedies.
Leyte Judge Ephrem Abando issued the warrant against Ocampo last March 6 for his supposed participation in the 1980s purging of so-called military spies and traitors in the ranks of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its military arm, the New People's Army (NPA), of which Ocampo is a former member.
Ocampo was subsequently arrested last March 16 after personally filing his petition at the SC. Although he was able to attend the oral arguments, he remained detained at the Manila police headquarters.
Ocampo's lawyer said his client would not likely get a fair chance since he has already been branded by the government as "a communist" and "an enemy of the state," and that it has been filing false charges against him in a bid to pin down leftists.
Capulong said the murder charges against his client are political in nature thus should be included in a rebellion case pending at the Makati court. Rebellion, he pointed out, is a "continuing offense" that encompassed various crimes, including the alleged murders.
He maintained his arguments that Leyte Assistant Provincial prosecutor Rosulo Vivero committed grave misconduct when he excluded five witnesses from the charge sheet because they were supposedly Ocampo's co-conspirators.
The petitioner's counsel noted that under the rules on evidence, "the rights of a party cannot be prejudiced by an act, declaration or omission of another."
Justices Romeo Callejo Sr. and Adolfo Azcuna shared Capulong's view that the "cleansing of the CPP" smack of rebellion rather than the crime of murder.
But some justices pointed out that the petition for certiorari filed by Ocampo involve factual matters and could not be tackled by the high court because it's not a trier of facts. They said the matters could be resolved by the lower court.
Associate Justices Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez and Presbiterio Velasco said that petitioner could have taken other legal remedies available to him such as filing a motion to quash the murder case against him or motion to quash the warrant of arrest issued by Abando.
They said if Ocampo felt that he could not get a fair hearing during the preliminary stage of the investigation, he could have filed a petition for review of Vivero's resolution before office of the secretary of justice or filed a motion for certiorari before the Court of Appeals (CA).
Capulong said they could not file a petition for review before the DOJ since Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. has already shown his prejudice against the accused and other militant leaders based on statements he has made through the media.
For her part, Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera maintained that Ocampo chose the wrong forum to air his grievances and that there strong evidence to justify his arrest and detention.
Devanadera also said that the murder charges are not covered by the rebellion case in the Makati City court because those were committed as "payment for their political debts to overthrow the government."
She further said that Ocampo was using rebellion as a defense but this can very well be ventilated in the hearing in the Makati trial.
At the end of the oral arguments, Chief Justice Reynato Puno ordered the parties to submit their respective memoranda within 10 days. The SC however did not issue any release order for Ocampo so he will have to remain at the Manila police office.
Among those who appeared during the oral arguments and lent support to Ocampo were Team Unity senatorial candidate Joker Arroyo and Genuine Opposition senatorial candidate Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III.
Meanwhile, party-list legislators stood by Ocampo as he faced the SC for the oral arguments.
Gabriela party-list Representative Liza Maza and Anakpawis party-list Representative Crispin Beltran expressed optimism that the high tribunal would release Ocampo from detention based on the charges filed against him.
Maza along with other militant leaders said the charges filed against Ocampo including the lawmaker's arrest "were just few of the intimidations being used by the government to prevent them from winning congressional seats in the coming elections."
Beltran, for his part, believed that the oral arguments before the SC would be a test of the country's judicial system -- whether it still works or not.
Maza and Beltran also called on other party-list groups and other sectors to rally for Ocampo and defend the people's democratic rights.
She also asked senatorial candidates to make clear their stand on political repression and persecution.
Aside from Ocampo, two other partylist leaders -- Anakpawis leaders Rafael Baylosis and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas Randal Echanis -- are also linked in the killings. (ECV/DBP/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Zamboanga. (March 31, 2007 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Lapu mayor yields to suspension; Ouano resists