Cops swoop down on P'panga capitol

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga - Some 200 armed policemen, backed by two firetrucks, swooped down on the Pampanga capitol building yesterday afternoon, sending scores of supporters of suspended Gov. Lito Lapid fleeing from the grounds.

Provincial board member Edna David, sworn in as acting governor the other day, arrived heavily secured amid jeers from Lapid's supporters who had assembled in front of the capitol building.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) enforced the other day the one-year suspension order issued by the Office of the Ombudsman against Lapid who, together with Vice Gov. Clayton Olalia and two others, were linked to alleged anomalies in the collection of lahar sand quarrying fees in the province in 1997 and the first semester of 1998.

Lapid's lawyers are set to file with the Supreme Court today an amended petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the suspension order after the Court of Appeals (CA) denied the governor's plea for a preliminary injunction.

His legal counsels debunked the claim of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Narciso Santiago that the posting of the suspension order on the door of the capitol building the other day constitutes "substantial compliance" with the requirements of serving the order.

"The procedure is for the governor to be informed first of the order before it is served. This never happened," said Lapid's lawyer Augusto Panlilio.

Santiago appealed yesterday to Lapid and his supporters to abide by the rule of law and prevent the situation from worsening.

"We only implemented the order. It was the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman," he said.

David's first day in office was marred by a walkout of reporters from what was supposed to be her first press conference. The journalists resented the move of David's aide Jake de los Reyes to screen first all questions they would ask of the acting governor.

De los Reyes also blocked any question pertaining to David's political plans in next year's elections. David holed up in her office as newsmen waited for almost two hours.

At least 300 of Lapid's supporters remained at the capitol grounds to protest his suspension. In the afternoon, their number swelled as Lapid's fans from Zambales and Nueva Ecija arrived aboard jeepneys.

Lapid fan Rey Manalili, 40, of Mexico town, said Lapid sent word for them to abandon their vigil at the capitol building as some 200 armed policemen arrived to physically force them out.

"We were told that Lapid advised us to flee to safety, but we are not abandoning him," he added.

"We elected him to be our governor. Why should the Ombudsman take him away from us?" asked 63-year-old lahar victim Carlos David of the Akle evacuation center.

Victorina Gomez, 57, president of the Katarungan Para sa Mga Mamamayan ng Pampanga (Kapampangan) said what happened to Lapid has endeared him more to his constituents.

"I am already old. I am willing to die defending the governor," she said. - With Gina Tabonares, Ric Sapnu