INQUIRER STORY TRUE: WHY CUEVAS FORCED TO DENY STORY
MANILA, FEBRUARY 2, 2012 (INQUIRER) By Christine O. Avendaño, Fe
Zamora - Retired Supreme Court Justice Serafin Cuevas on Monday said there was
no truth to a Philippine Daily Inquirer story which reported him as saying that
someone from Malacañang had tried to pressure him into quitting as chief lawyer
for impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Supposedly in exchange for withdrawing as chief defense counsel in the Corona
case, criminal charges would be dropped against Magtanggol Gatdula, the sacked
chief of the National Bureau of Investigation and, like Cuevas, a member of the
Iglesia ni Cristo (INC).
Interviewed on Radyo Inquirer, Cuevas also denied having said that he was
subjected to some form of "harassment" by the Bureau of Internal Revenue over
family-owned buildings in Quezon City, days after Corona's impeachment trial
began on January 16.
"That is not true. I did not say anything like that. I deny that," Cuevas
said in Filipino.
In the Inquirer story, the 83-year-old retired justice said he was approached
by one of his former law students—whom he described as now one of Malacañang's
"rah-rah boys"—and asked to leave the defense team. In exchange for his
withdrawal, the kidnapping case against Gatdula would be dropped.
Apology to Malacañang
Cuevas identified the supposed Malacañang emissary but asked the Inquirer to
withhold the person's identity.
In the Radyo Inquirer interview, Cuevas categorically denied the story. He
even apologized to Malacañang for the story.
"Nobody talked to me. I hope Malacañang would forgive me, I did not say
anything like that," he said.
'No maneuvering'
Cuevas said Gatdula's being an Iglesia member like him might have fueled
speculation about the supposed proposed deal for him to withdraw from Corona's
defense panel.
"That's what many of our friends in the media thought, because we are both
members of the Iglesia," Cuevas said. "(But) but there was no maneuvering.
Nobody talked to me."
"And who is Serafin Cuevas that Malacañang would bother to talk to me? I am a
volunteer for Chief Justice Corona. He can change me anytime," Cuevas said.
Palace: No pressure
The Palace on Monday maintained it had not pressured anyone involved in the
impeachment trial.
"We don't work that way," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte told
reporters.
Reacting to Cuevas' statement to the Inquirer and his subsequent denial,
Valte said that Cuevas' "fantastic claims as carried in the media and his
subsequent denial, are classic attempts to distract from the substance of the
issues."
She said the issue was Corona's ability to acquire his assets considering his
income.
"After all, (Internal Revenue) Commissioner Kim Henares' testimony last week
has not, to date, been rebutted by the defense," Valte said in a separate,
prepared statement.
"We hope Justice Cuevas will give as much emphasis to his retraction as he
did to his initial claim. The country cannot afford distractions of this sort
from the impeachment trial proceedings."
Valte said the Palace considered these issues "peripheral" and "collateral."
"We should focus really on what the substance of the impeachment is," she
said.
Transcript
of PDI interview with retired SC Justice Cuevas (with audio)
Why Cuevas 'forced' to deny Inquirer story By
Cathy C. Yamsuan Philippine Daily Inquirer 12:10 am | Wednesday, February 1st,
2012
[PHOTO - SILENCE OF THE SAGE Lead defense lawyer Serafin Cuevas seems
to be lost in thought before the resumption of the trial on Tuesday. LYN RILLON]
Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Serafin Cuevas was forced to deny a
Philippine Daily Inquirer report regarding his claim that a Malacañang emissary
had asked him to withdraw as lead defense lawyer for Chief Justice Renato Corona
after "a dressing down" from an Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) official.
An INC insider said leaders of the religious group were shocked upon reading
the newspaper story in which Cuevas said that an emissary whom he described as a
"Malacañang rah-rah boy" had approached him to ask that he quit as chief defense
counsel in Corona's impeachment trial.
But what peeved the INC hierarchy, the source said, was Cuevas' disclosure
that the move to get him to withdraw was tied up with the case of ousted
National Bureau of Investigation Director Magtanggol Gatdula.
Cuevas said the Malacañang emissary had told him Gatdula would be spared of
any criminal charge if Cuevas quit the Corona defense team.
Both Cuevas and Gatdula are members of the INC. A justice department panel
has recommended the filing of criminal charges against Gatdula for his alleged
involvement in the kidnapping of an undocumented Japanese woman.
Inquirer story correct
"Ka Apin (a reference to Cuevas) was called to the INC headquarters in Quezon
City right after the story came out in the Inquirer," said the source, who
sought anonymity for fear of punitive action from his religious group. "He was
given a dressing down because he mentioned Gatdula in the interview."
"Your story is correct," the source added, referring to the Inquirer article.
The source also said that Cuevas, 83, would not be disciplined despite his
blooper given his advanced age.
The source said the dressing down took place before Cuevas appeared at the
Senate on Monday and that the INC was upset Cuevas had dragged the
organization's name in the interview with the Inquirer.
"A lay member should not talk about or make references to the INC as an
institution. Only the ministers [can], and (Cuevas) is not even one," the source
said.
'Lapse in judgment'
The source said that after Cuevas was reprimanded (pinagalitan), "Ka Apin had
to do an about face at the risk of losing his credibility."
"Had Ka Apin limited himself to the discussion of pressure from Malacañang,
there wouldn't have been any problem. But the thing was that he had to mention
the quid pro quo (palit-ulo) about Gatdula."
"The mention of Ka Tanggol's (a reference to Gatdula) name was considered a
lapse in judgment on the part of Ka Apin," the source added. "The INC was
displeased so there was extreme pressure to deny."
Message to Palace
The INC source would not confirm whether Gatdula's appointment as NBI top
honcho had been a favor extended to the organization.
However, the source said the choice of Abraham Espejo, a prominent INC
member, as Gatdula's lawyer was supposed to "send a message to Malacañang" to
take it easy with the sacked director.
Espejo is the dean of the New Era University College of Law, the source said.
"Why would they send in the dean if the hierarchy is treating Gatdula's
situation as an ordinary case?" the source said.
A Malacañang official said the ball was now in Cuevas' court following the
Inquirer's release of the transcript and audio of its interview with Cuevas, in
which the latter said a Palace emissary had tried to prod him into quitting as
Corona's chief lawyer.
"At this point, it will be up to Justice Cuevas to support his (denial) and,
until such time, we will defer comment," deputy presidential spokesperson
Abigail Valte told reporters.
Incredulous Leila
Palace officials have denied Cuevas' allegation and challenged him to
identify the "emissary" who approached him. They also said it was not the habit
of Malacañang to pressure anyone.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima rejected Cuevas' claim that someone from
Malacañang tried to pressure him into quitting the Corona defense panel.
"When the report came out, I did not believe it. I seriously doubt that it
was true, that somebody (from Malacañang) was talking to him," De Lima told
reporters.
"In the case of NBI Director Gatdula, I was the only one that the President
was talking to, although there were (times) that the Executive Secretary joined
the discussion, so there's no such thing," De Lima said.
De Lima added: "Some sectors are again fabricating stories and putting all
sorts of slants in the issue." With reports from Christine
O. Avendaño and Jerome Aning
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
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