HANDS OFF ON BRILLANTES' "X-MAS IN JAIL" PRONOUNCEMENT
MANILA,
OCTOBER 8,
2011 (STAR) By Aurea Calica - Malacañang is keeping its
distance from pronouncements by Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto
Brillantes that former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
and her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo might spend Christmas in jail if indicted for
election sabotage.
"Malacañang is hands off on the matter because they are still appreciating,
evaluating the evidence. So let's wait for that. We are also awaiting the
results of their investigation," presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a
press briefing yesterday.
"We are not privy to the deliberations going on in the task force. So it's a
statement made by Brillantes. So we don't know the stage at which they are right
now."
A joint Comelec-Department of Justice (DOJ) task force is establishing
probable cause to charge the Arroyo couple with election sabotage for allegedly
masterminding cheating in the 2007 senatorial elections.
Lacierda stressed there would be no special treatment for the Arroyos if they
are indicted and detained for a non-bailable election offense.
"These are being studied. We don't know what the status is right now. We
don't even know when it's going to happen. But, nonetheless, everyone has to go
through the legal process. If it is filed before the courts, it will be subject
to the discretion of the courts and once it's filed with the court, we know that
we're all hands off when it comes to that," Lacierda said.
He said he he did not know why Brillantes made such a statement.
"Maybe because he's involved in the task force, he is in a better position to
dictate the pace by which the task force is undergoing the investigation,"
Lacierda said. "So I leave it to them."
Obvious bias
Meanwhile, the lawyer of Mr. Arroyo said yesterday Brillantes should resign
for his obvious bias against his client.
Lawyer Inocencio Ferrer said Brillantes, who is leading a joint investigation
with the DOJ on alleged electoral fraud committed by his client and Mrs. Arroyo,
cannot be trusted to make a fair judgment because of his repeated public
statements even when the probe is not finished.
He also cited reports that Brillantes was election lawyer for various
opposition candidates against the previous administration as well as the
notorious Ampatuan clan in the past elections.
"Brillantes should resign because his public pronouncement of the guilt of
the Arroyos and his statement that the Arroyos will spend Christmas in jail
before any complaint has been filed and prior to a trial have clearly shown his
bias, prejudgment and clear conflict of interest," Ferrer said in a text
message.
"He should resign to protect the institution of the Comelec," he said.
Brillantes earlier said the testimony of former Maguindanao provincial
administrator Norie Unas could help prove the Arroyos' involvement in alleged
manipulation of votes.
He reiterated yesterday that the statement of Unas is strong and only his
former boss, former Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., can disprove it.
In his sworn affidavit, Unas alleged that Mrs. Arroyo had ordered Ampatuan to
rig the elections in Maguindanao in favor of her Team Unity (TU) senatorial
bets. – With Paolo Romero, Sheila Crisostomo
Arroyo vows to prove innocence in 2007 poll fraud
By Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) Updated October 08, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Embattled former first gentleman Jose Miguel
Arroyo returned from abroad and vowed to prove his accusers wrong in the
numerous charges against him and his wife, former President and now Pampanga
Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Arroyo arrived Thursday from Germany and vowed to face all the charges,
including the latest that linked him and his wife to alleged fraud in the 2007
elections.
"This (successive charges and allegations) is too much. How can they not get
tired of lying?" Arroyo told The STAR. "I will face them and I will prove them
wrong."
"They (accusers) have to make sure they have credible and strong evidence.
The investigators must also be fair in evaluating evidence and not just believe
hearsay. That's not a proof," he added.
Arroyo arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 at 6:35
p.m. on board Cathay Pacific flight CX903 from Munich, Germany via Hong Kong. He
was accompanied by three men and queued at the airport by himself.
Arroyo left for Germany earlier this month saying he was searching for a stem
cell cure for his wife, who is recuperating from three cervical spine surgeries
due to brittle neck bones, and for his heart ailment.
Arroyo said he was able to find a doctor specializing in stem cell treatment.
At the same time, Arroyo said he has answered previous charges filed against
him in the legal forum.
Arroyo said he was meeting with his lawyers yesterday to come up with a
defense strategy on the allegations of Norie Unas, former provincial
administrator of Maguindanao.
Unas claimed overhearing the Arroyos talking with then Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao governor Zaldy Ampatuan on rigging the votes in his jurisdiction
to ensure the victory of administration senatorial candidates in 2007.
"That testimony is all lies," Arroyo remarked, hurling invectives.
"How can the meeting happen when that was the time I was sick because of my
dissecting aorta in my heart. I was in the hospital for a long time," Arroyo
said.
He said his wife even remarked Unas' claims were "kalokohan (ridiculous)."
The Arroyo couple is also facing at least five plunder complaints. Arroyo is
also accused of owning helicopters that he later sold to the Philippine National
Police (PNP) as brand new.
His lawyer Inocencio Ferrer decried the administration's campaign to demonize
his client and the former president and creating a public mindset of finding
them guilty on all the allegations.
Ferrer said many news reports quoted President Aquino's spokesmen that the
Arroyos will not be given special treatment once they are incarcerated in the
New Bilibid Prison (NBP).
"This same Malacañang spokesman was even quoted as saying nonchalantly that
the New Bilibid Prison facilities and hospital will be ready if the Arroyo
couple will invoke poor health to avoid imprisonment," Ferrer said, without
naming the official.
"These statements were and are made in bad taste, considering that my client
has not even been charged with any crime allegedly committed during the 2007
senatorial elections," he said.
Ferrer said these public statements created a perception that Malacañang has
already condemned the Arroyos and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
Meanwhile, some lawmakers talked yesterday of the possibility of the Arroyos
fleeing the country and seeking political asylum.
"They may likely do a Thaksin," Isabela Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao said, referring
to former Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who went on self-exile
after jumping bail in 2009 on criminal convictions under his successor's reign,
former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
"The possibility (of seeking political asylum) is strong considering that the
charges against them ranging from plunder to electoral sabotage, are
non-bailable offenses," he said.
If the Arroyo couple decide to seek asylum, Aggabao said they could "plead
political persecution" to justify their move.
Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe, however, said the Arroyos will
likely stay in the country and allow themselves to be detained.
"I don't think they will seek asylum. As former president, GMA (former
president) is cognizant of her place in history," Batocabe said.
Witness
Apart from the Arroyo couple, former elections chief Benjamin Abalos was also
implicated in the 2007 election fraud.
Abalos tried to turn the tables against his accuser by offering himself as
prosecution witness against Lilian Radam, the former election official in South
Cotabato charged with 11 counts of election sabotage before the Pasay regional
trial court.
This developed as the Pasay court called on the Commission on Elections
(Comelec) and Sen. Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III to comment on the manifestation
of Abalos to turn prosecution witness.
The case stemmed from the filing of charges by Pimentel against Radam,
accusing the former election official of orchestrating the cheating operations
in South Cotabato during the 2007 elections where he was among those who fell
victim to the scheme.
Radam is also facing 11 counts of electoral sabotage filed by Ferdinand
Rafanan, then chief of Comelec law department, last February.
A fact-finding committee of the House of Representatives, meanwhile, is
seeking the testimonies of more policemen allegedly involved in at least four
intrusions into the Batasan compound in January and February 2005.
Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada, who heads the committee, said they want to verify
the allegations made by whistleblower Senior Superintendent Rafael Santiago and
five policemen under him.
"We intend to seek additional testimonies from those allegedly involved in
the break-ins before ending our inquiry and submitting our report to the
Speaker," Tañada said.
"We are concerned about the security aspect and not about the alleged
switching of election returns (ERs) used in the 2004 presidential election," he
said.
One police officer wanted by the fact-finding committee is Superintendent
Ferdie Ortega, who was head of the Philippine National Police Special Action
Force (SAF) unit guarding the Batasan complex in 2005.
Ortega is now reportedly assigned in the Davao region.
Santiago has told the committee that he led two teams of SAF men ordered to
escort and provide security to a group of eight to 10 "election operators" led
by one El Bello, supposedly a son of a former Comelec official.
He said the orders came for then national security adviser and now Zambales
Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane and his SAF commander, retired police general Marcelino
Franco.
Santiago said his escort teams and the Bello group entered the Batasan
compound four times between 11 in the evening and 2 in the morning, with the
latter doing the switching of ERs.
Santiago claimed that every time they intruded into the legislative building,
he coordinated with Ortega, who he said was in charge of making sure that they
had unhampered access to the compound. – With Perseus
Echeminada, Jess Diaz, Rudy Santos
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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