Court postpones Valera arraignment

A Quezon City Regional Trial Court judge reset yesterday the arraignment of Abra Gov. Vicente Valera after his lawyers asked for more time to comment on the illegal possession of firearms charges and a hold departure motion filed by the government prosecutor.

Judge Tita Villordon granted the motion filed by defense lawyers Jose Grafilon and Rowena Flores. State assistant prosecutor Robert Senson made no objection.

Valera, who was accompanied by two bodyguards, attended the hearing. He declined to give any comment to reporters.

"You are making me a celebrity like Richard Gomez. You talk to my lawyers," he said when asked to comment on the alleged P5-million distributed to the media to contain any bad publicity.

Grafilon denied the allegation, saying that the government had no money to finance a public relations campaign. "You cannot win a case through media relations," he said.

Valera also declined to comment on the retraction of a lone witness who linked him to the Dec. 16 killing of Abra Rep. Luis Bersamin Jr. outside the Mount Carmel Church in New Manila, Quezon City.

He told newsmen that he fears for his life, claiming that he has been receiving unspecified death threats.

Valera was arrested by traffic policemen along Commonwealth Avenue in Fairview, Quezon City, who were implementing no-license plate, no-travel policy and campaign on the illegal use of sirens.

A search of his Suburban Chevrolet yielded several firearms and a grenade prompting the police to file a charge of illegal possession of firearms. Valera was briefly detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) custodial center in Camp Crame.

Valera later posted bail at P300,000.