DOJ drops rebellion raps vs Estrada supporters

Conceding that the poor were used as pawns in a dangerous game of political intrigue, the government dropped yesterday the rebellion and sedition charges it earlier filed against 79 loyalists of disgraced former President Joseph Estrada.

But the charges of rebellion and conspiracy to commit rebellion against former Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile and former Ambassador Ernesto Maceda will be pursued, according to Justice Secretary Hernando Perez.

Upon orders of President Arroyo, Perez said the charges filed against the 79 loyalists were withdrawn because "they were merely used" in a grand scheme to overthrow the government on May 1.

The loyalists, mostly poor folk, were among the 50,000 Estrada diehards who stormed the gates of Malacañang on May 1, six days after Estrada was arrested for a string of criminal charges.

"They had nothing to do with the Malacañang siege and that they were merely used. I have already directed the prosecutors to withdraw the charges filed in the courts," Perez told reporters.

The charges dropped were those lodged in the sala of Manila RTC Judge Mariano dela Cruz and Quezon City RTC Judge Jose Mendoza.

In dropping the charges, government lawyers said the 79 loyalists only did what they did because of the "harsh realities of poverty and ignorance."

"Looking at the incident, our initial impression of a grand scheme to overthrow the government loses ground and what unfold are the even harsher realities of poverty and ignorance which are productive of social and political unrest," the state prosecutors said.

"While much could be said of the violence wrought, it does well to pursue the option which unites than that which divides," stressed government lawyers Richard Anthony Fadullon, Perfecto Chua Cheng, Irwin Maraya and Misael Ladaga.

The mayhem "does not meet the element of taking up arms against the government" since "stones and wood sticks can hardly be considered as arms when pitted against the military hardware and firepower of government troops."

Perez clarified, on the other hand, that the charges of rebellion against Enrile and Maceda would be pursued contrary to earlier plans to drop the charges as well.

Perez said the DOJ had earlier thought of dropping the charges against Enrile and Maceda in the spirit of political reconciliation but the DOJ changed its mind after the duo mocked the government’s case against them as weak.

Similar charges that were supposed to be filed against Senators Gregorio Honasan and Panfilo Lacson and former Sen. Miriam Santiago were not pursued for still unknown reasons.

Enrile was indicted in a Quezon City regional trial court while Maceda’s conspiracy to commit rebellion suit has just been transferred to a QC metropolitan trial court.

Prosecutors tightened the rebellion charges they filed against Maceda after they rectified the fatal error of filing the case before a QC RTC instead of a QC MTC.

Perez had explained that "conspiracy to commit rebellion," for which Maceda was indicted, is punishable only with imprisonment shorter than six years.

Under the law, crimes punishable by imprisonment of less than six years fall within the jurisdiction of the MTC and not the RTC.