Atong arraigned within 30 days

Following his extradition to the Philippines, former presidential consultant Charlie "Atong" Ang will have to be arraigned on his non-bailable plunder charges before the Sandiganbayan.

Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa Ignacio said Ang will have to enter his plea – within 30 days upon arrival in the country – on charges of funneling millions of pesos from tobacco excise funds to deposed President Joseph Estrada.

"It would be better if he (Ang) pleaded guilty," Villa Ignacio said.

The chief government lawyer handling the large-scale corruption charges against Estrada and other co-accused expressed confidence that their case against Ang will prosper.

At the same time, Villa Ignacio reiterated the prosecution will not utilize Ang as a rebuttal witness in the plunder case against Estrada.

"No way we’re going to use him as rebuttal witness. We’re already comfortable with our evidence," he said.

Villa Ignacio stressed the prosecution is preparing for a separate trial for Ang once the anti-graft court sets the calendar of the hearings.

"We are willing to go another round. Anyway, it would be easier for us this time because we already have all the evidence," Villa Ignacio said.

Both the prosecution and defense panels have presented their evidence and the trial was concluded just recently.

A separate trial for Ang on Estrada’s P4.1-billion plunder case is not a problem, according to Villa Ignacio.

He said government prosecutors have been preparing for the eventuality of Ang being arrested and extradited to the country to face the charges of plunder.

Ang is now under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which will turn him over to the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan.

Under court procedures, the NBI has three days to turn over Ang to the jurisdiction of the anti-graft court, which will decide where to detain Ang.

Villa Ignacio and Sandiganbayan sheriff Ed Urieta said Ang should be detained at the Quezon City jail being the "official depository" of persons accused of non-bailable offenses before the anti-graft court.

"For me, he should be immediately sent to the Quezon City jail," Villa Ignacio said.

"In the absence of any request for other detention center, subject to the approval of the court, we will immediately bring him to the Quezon City Jail, that is the procedure," Urieta added.

Ang lost a legal fight in September when a Nevada court ordered his extradition after five years of hiding in the US.

Ang flew to Las Vegas with his family shortly after Estrada was ousted from office in a popular revolt in January 2001, triggered by the aborted impeachment trial on the allegations made by Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson.

Ang was among the principal accused on charges of plunder filed against Estrada before the Sandiganbayan.

The other accused include Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, lawyer Edward Serapio, Yolanda Ricaforte, Alma Alfaro, Eleuterio Ramas Tan and Delia Rajas.

Singson had accused Ang of funneling tobacco tax kickbacks amounting to P130 million and illegal gambling payoffs to Estrada.

Ang arrived in the country under heavy guard Friday from Los Angeles escorted by ranking NBI officials.

Weary from the 17-hour flight from the US, Ang was quickly handcuffed and made to don a bullet-proof vest as an added precaution because of his claims of threats on his life.

Ang also made the claim before Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez during their closed-door meeting.

Gonzalez later told a news conference that the threats against Ang are real though he did not identify the people who wanted the businessman silenced.

Gonzalez said Ang volunteered to submit sworn statements of his knowledge behind the disappearance of casino worker Edgar Bentain in 1998.

Gonzalez also hinted Ang has some vital information surrounding the Kuratong Baleleng rubout controversy.

Malacañang, for its part, welcomed Ang’s effort to voluntarily provide information on the controversial cases.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol stressed the importance of the information that could be provided by Ang.

"It should really depend on Atong Ang, I think whatever testimony he will give will be voluntary. Nobody can force him to say something about anybody or any case," Apostol said.

Revelations

Gonzalez claimed Ang mentioned to him some personalities involved in the disappearance of Bentain and those behind the Kuratong rubout case.

Gonzalez also revealed before Vice President Noli de Castro during the latter’s weekly radio program that Ang had "firsthand" information on the kidnap-slay of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000.

Among those accused in the case is Michael Ray Aquino, a former police colonel arrested in the US for alleged spying.

"Meron din siyang nabanggit sa Dacer case kaya he fears for his life. Firsthand ang information niya sa Dacer case," he said.

According to Gonzalez, some names given by Ang during their meeting last Friday were "identical," apparently coming up each time a controversial case is mentioned.

Gonzalez claimed Ang named some politicians and police officers behind the controversies.

"Meron po (politicians named by Ang), but we still need to validate and find out whether what he said will stand in court. Several names have been mentioned including policemen but I don’t think we should discuss it. It’s the first time (and we have to authenticate)," Gonzalez said during the interview.

Gonzalez emphasized Ang’s information on the Kuratong case should be checked out by independent sources, such as other witnesses in the case.

On the other hand, Sen. Panfilo Lacson slammed Gonzalez for insinuating he was involved in the controversies.

Lacson made the reaction in the wake of Gonzalez’s claims that among those involved in the cases is a politician, as revealed by Ang.

The Justice chief, though, did not reveal the names of the people behind the controversies as reportedly spelled out to him by Ang.

Lacson, however, believes Gonzalez is trying to implicate him anew.

"That’s senility at work," Lacson said about Gonzalez’s statement.

Lacson, who served as Philippine National Police (PNP) chief during the aborted term of Estrada until 2001, said he is not bothered by the statements of Gonzalez.

"I have absolutely nothing to do with the Bentain case. If Atong Ang had something to do with it, I’m not aware," Lacson said.

The opposition senator was among those accused in the alleged rubout of 11 members of Kuratong Baleleng robbery gang in 1995.

"The Kuratong Baleleng case has been dismissed at least six times already. Anyway, they can manufacture as many (pieces of) evidence as they want but it will still be called manufactured evidence," Lacson said.

"They (his critics) did it to me before so I have gotten used to it," he added.

Revival

The NBI, on the other hand, said it would take the lead in reviving the Bentain controversy.

NBI Director Nestor Mantaring said he has assigned the bureau’s Criminal Intelligence Division under Regional Director Ricardo Diaz to interview Ang and extract any information from him to solve the disappearance of the casino worker.

Bentain disappeared shortly after video footage of Ang and Estrada gambling at the Casino Filipino at the Heritage Hotel in Pasay City was leaked.

The tape became a controversial campaign material when it was released by former Movie and Television Review and Classification Board chairman Manuel Morato, who was running against Estrada in the 1998 presidential elections.

It became more controversial following the mysterious disappearance of Bentain, who was widely believed to have been Morato’s source of the video clip.

"On Monday, we would interview Atong Ang to see what he will say," Mantaring said.

He clarified the reopening of the Bentain case would depend on the information coming from Ang.

"We will evaluate Atong Ang’s statement and we will see if there is additional information to help resolve the case," Mantaring added.

Diaz, for his part, said they were forced to close the case in 1999 for lack of witnesses.

"We were facing a blank wall because nobody would testify at that time," Diaz said. – With Marvin Sy, Pia Lee-Brago, Evelyn Macairan