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Saturday, July 05, 2008
Lawyer, 4 others sued over new coup plot
MANILA -- The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday filed criminal charges before the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court (MTC) against lawyer Homobono Adaza and four others for an alleged attempt to extort US$4 million from a Japanese investor to finance fresh plans to overthrow the Arroyo administration.
In a resolution, Senior State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco found probable cause to indict Adaza and co-accused Colonels Oscarlito Mapalo, Ernie Amboy, Cesar dela Peña, and Rafael Cardeno for proposing to commit coup d'etat, obstruction of justice, and harboring a fugitive.
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
Cardeno was also slapped with violation of Article 178 of the Revised Penal Code for using a fictitious name or concealing his true name to evade arrest for his role in the murder of Young Officers Union spokesman Baron Cervantes.
"The concerted act of the respondents in their proposal to Mr. (Monotori) Sakuma through his assistant Joanne Maria Laurilla to finance a coup d'etat during the aforesaid entrapment operation clearly makes them probably liable for the offense of proposal to commit coup d'etat penalized under Article 136 of the RPC (Revised Penal Code)," Velasco said.
Velasco also heads the Department of Justice (DOJ) Task Force on Rebellion.
Prosecutors further declared lawful the arrest of the suspects by Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) policemen, saying they performed their duty with regularity.
The case was immediately forwarded to the Quezon City MTC after Adaza and his group waived their rights to undergo preliminary investigation (PI).
Velasco however said respondents will have to undergo PI on charges of extortion and estafa.
The charges were made following the complaint filed on July 2, 2008 of Sakuma's lawyer Raymund Fortun, who arrived at the office of Police Superintendent Asher Dolina of the CIDG.
Laurilla corroborated Fortun's story.
According to the complaint, Adaza's group proposed to Sakuma to finance the coup d'etat, which they intended to launch against the government, coupled with threats on his person, prompting him to seek the legal advice of Fortun.
An entrapment operation was subsequently conducted in Room 1002 of Crown Plaza, which yielded Adaza and the others.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr., on the other hand, said he knew Adaza to be closely linked with the rightist group but he is not aware if he is on any fresh plots to destabilize the government.
He said that if indeed Adaza was plotting to unseat President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, he would not be acting on his own as he does not have the clout or the financial capability to commandeer rebel soldiers to strike.
"I have had information about a planned coup. He (Adaza) has not been mentioned in the messages I have been receiving. But I know Adaza. I know him very well on these issues of coups. I don't think he is capable of acting on his own. He can't be the mastermind, but he can be part of the planning," he said.
Gonzalez said he has been receiving messages of new coup plans but he never entertained them seriously. "I always believed that at this point in time, attempts for coup d'etat are passé. But there are still adventurers," he said.
According to Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, there would be some anti-government "movements" coinciding with the 8th State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Arroyo on July 28.
"Right now, I'll tell you something. Of course we're already getting reports about what are the plans of anybody for the Sona, we know that. What I'm trying to tell you is the advance information," he said.
Ermita declined to elaborate if the arrest of Adaza's group for alleged coup plot is related to Sona movements.
He added that as far as he knows Adaza has been the lawyer of some soldiers tagged in previous destabilization attempts.
"I do not know but they have their own timetable. They're always looking for a milestone date," he said.
He said that what he could assure is that the administration is not taking the issue lightly.
"Anything, plots are always taken with concern. Remember it's just like an ambush that is an unexpected attack on a moving target, so we don't know. It's serious," he said.
Ermita, however, acknowledged that the time is "not ripe" for any coup moves and even the destabilizers or those plotting against the administration is aware of that.
He said they are also aware that the people are already tired of such destabilization moves especially with just two years to go in the term of the President.
Bail
Meanwhile, dela Peña posted a P120,000 bail at the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division in connection with a graft case filed against him by the Office of the Ombudsman.
Dela Peña was among eight defendants charged by the Ombudsman for illegal disposition of firearms concerning the loss of a shipment of 72 units of Heckler and Koch MP5 caliber .9mm sub-machineguns in June 2000.
Prosecutors tagged dela Peña as the one who submitted a bogus purchase order to the Philippine National Police-Firearms and Explosives Division (PNP-FED), allegedly acting on the authority of retired Brigadier General Percival Subala, then Philippine Marine Corps commandant.
Also charged were Navy Captain Teodoro Briones, Senior Police Officer (SPO) 4 Richard Zules, and private individuals Edelbert Uybuco, Gerardo Vijandre, Manuel Ferdinand Trinidad, and Michael Boregas.
Superintendent Cesar Magsino, acting chief of the PNP Custodial Center, ordered the turnover of custody over dela Peña to the graft court on the strength of an arrest warrant issued last June 24 by Associate Justice Ma. Cristina Cortez-Estrada, Fifth Division chairperson.
Manuel Torio of the Sandiganbayan Sheriff and Security Services Office said dela Peña will be returned to PNP custody despite having posted bail based on criminal charges filed against him by the DOJ for alleged involvement in the coup plot against the Arroyo administration. (Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (July 5, 2008 issue)
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