Arrest order on Estrada disciple stays

A Manila judge denied the plea of Ronald Lumbao, the fugitive-supporter of former President Joseph Estrada, to recall the arrest warrant issued against him for rebellion charges that stemmed from the Malacañang siege last May 1.

Judge Teresa Soriaso of Regional Trial Court Branch 27 rejected the appeal of Lumbao, a leader of People’s Movement Against Poverty (PMAP), who claimed that the Department of Justice (DOJ) did not give him the chance to present his side during the investigation of the rebellion charges against him.

"Since the court initially finds probable cause for the issuance of a warrant of arrest, the Court is of the opinion ... that the warrant should stand in order not to frustrate the ends of justice," Soriaso said in her six-page order.

But Soriaso granted Lumbao’s appeal that his case be submitted to a new preliminary investigation.

Lumbao said he failed to answer the charges because his summon was sent to his home province in Ginoog City in Misamis Oriental when he was residing at 56 Elga St., Tatalon in Quezon City.

Lumbao is facing rebellion charges for provoking thousands of Estrada supporters to march from the EDSA Shrine in Mandaluyong City to Malacañang in an attempt oust President Arroyo and reinstate Estrada.

Four persons were killed, scores were wounded and hundreds were arrested in that bloody incident. — Cecille Suerte Felipe