JDV: Sans hard evidence, ‘housemates’ should be freed

DAGUPAN CITY — Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said yesterday he will ask police not to arrest the five party-list lawmakers taken under his wing at the House of Representatives if there is no evidence to prove the rebellion charges against them.

However, De Venecia said he would turn over Representatives Teodoro Casiño, Satur Ocampo, Rafael Mariano, Joel Virador and Lisa Maza — now known as the "Batasan 5" — to the Philippine National Police (PNP) if preliminary investigation prosecutors find probable cause to file charges of rebellion against them in court.

"If after the preliminary investigation it will be found out that there is adequate evidence, then a warrant of arrest will be issued, I will have no choice but to turn them over to the Philippine National Police," he said.

Speaking to reporters here over the weekend, De Venecia said the five lawmakers must file their counter-affidavits by March 23.

Ten days thereafter, the Department of Justice will decide whether there is a case against the five lawmakers, and if there is insufficient evidence, they will be set free, he added.

De Venecia said the PNP wrote to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez last week and that Gonzalez in turn wrote him a letter asking for his response to the request that the five lawmakers be turned over to the PNP.

"So my reply in essence will say that I want to know if there is hard evidence," he said.

"If there is, then we will be waiting for the warrants of arrest. But if there is none, I now demand that they be set free," he said.

De Venecia advised his five colleagues to comply with the legal process and said since they have signed a waiver of detention, they must now submit to the preliminary investigation.

"Upon completion of the preliminary investigation, then we will know if warrants of arrest will be issued or if the courts will decide that the case will be dismissed," he said

De Venecia said the Constitution only shields lawmakers from arrest for offenses with penalties of lighter than six years in jail while Congress is in session.

Rebellion, however, is a non-bailable crime, he added.

De Venecia said his immediate concern was to protect the rights of the accused lawmakers and to ensure their safety.

"If I didn’t take them in, they would already be at large or in the underground," he said.

De Venecia said when warrants of arrest are issued for the five lawmakers he will turn them over to the police to show that they are not above the law.

He added that was what he did in the case of former Manila representative Mark Jimenez, who was wanted in the US for tax evasion and illegal campaign contributions.

He accompanied Jimenez to the US Embassy to ensure that the former lawmaker would be accorded honorable and dignified treatment, De Venecia said.

Jimenez eventually served a sentence in the US on the charges.

However, De Venecia assured the "Batasan 5" that as long as they remain within the House of Representatives, their safety is ensured.

Police return Beltran to jail

Meanwhile, doctors have ordered Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran released from the Philippine National Police General Hospital and back to solitary detention at the PNP Custodial Center, Beltran’s office said yesterday.

Quoting Beltran’s daughter Olivia Lalusis, the lawmaker’s office said Dr. Ferdinand Madrilejos, attending physician at the PNP General Hospital, told Beltran that he could soon be returned to his cell.

The statement said Madrilejos told Beltran his blood pressure only rose whenever there was a court hearing, and that Beltran was well enough to be sent back into solitary confinement.

However, Lalusis said while Beltran’s blood pressure as of yesterday morning remained at normal levels, "this was still no assurance that his health condition would remain stable in the coming days."

The statement said Lalusis expressed apprehensions that returning her father to solitary confinement in a cramped and humid cell would only exacerbate and cause "the further deterioration of his health."

Beltran’s supporters from the Free Ka Bel Movement criticized the PNP move as "a cruel form of political harassment" intending to weaken Beltran’s health.

"Representative Beltran’s unstable condition was also a result of his illegal and solitary confinement and just anger at the continuous injustices committed against him; transferring him back to that cell will only result in another dangerous bout of ill health," said Dennis Maga, Free Ka Bel Movement spokesman. — Eva Visperas