DOJ says Satur faces 14 more arrest warrants

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez expects Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo to be returned to jail after the Leyte Regional Trial Court issues 14 more arrest warrants against him.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Gonzalez said the Department of Justice has submitted 15 amended information before the court of Judge Ephrem Abando.

"I have ordered the amendment," he said.

"The question there is, will the judge issue the 14 warrants of arrest? But if he issued a warrant of arrest when the information was defective, there’s no reason why he should not issue warrant for amended information which constitute the same set of evidence, the same parties and testimonies of prosecution witnesses."

Gonzalez said the court will find probable cause to issue the new warrants for Ocampo’s arrest after reviewing the amended information filed by Leyte Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Rosulo Vivero.

"In effect, the court when it issued a warrant already admitted the existence of probable cause," he said.

"In a criminal prosecution, there are two stages for determining probable cause: preliminary investigation and the court. The fact that the court has already issued a warrant means that he had already accepted the existence of probable cause."

Gonzalez said the court may act on the amended information without waiting for the Supreme Court’s resolution on Ocampo’s main petition seeking the quashing of the first information against him.

The filing of an amended information is in consonance with the SC’s ruling that the first criminal information against Ocampo was "defective," and that there might be a "change in the character" of the offense if the case is remanded to a lower court, he added.

Last April 3, the SC granted Ocampo provisional liberty after posting a P100,000 cash bond, pending the resolution of his petition on the merits of the case, after 17 days of detention at Manila police headquarters.

Police arrested Ocampo after he filed his petition before the SC seeking to quash the arrest warrant issued against him by the Leyte court. – Mike Frialde