BY EMILY VITAL
Bulatlat
Posted June 4, 2007, 5:15 p.m.
Clad in red barong, Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran arrived at the House of Representatives around 3:15 p.m. today to attend the remaining session of the 13th Congress.
Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150 Judge Elmo Alameda granted this morning Beltran’s motion for temporary release to attend the final closing sessions of the 13th Congress from June 4 to June 7.
Alameda has yet to execute the decision laid down by the Supreme Court junking the Department of Justice’s charges of rebellion against Beltran.
In a press conference shortly before the plenary session, Beltran thanked his colleagues at the 13th Congress for their support to the members of the Batasan 6. Party-list lawmakers Beltran, Satur Ocampo, Rafael Mariano, Teddy Casiño, Liza Maza and Joel Virador – all charged with rebellion along Beltran – are dubbed Batasan 6.
Referring to his enemies, Beltran said in Filipino, “What they did to us [Batasan 6] is not only an insult to our civil rights but to our dignity as human beings.”
Beltran said the 13th Congress has approved the P125-across-the-board wage increase. This, he said, will benefit the workers and the poor. He then asked the help of his fellow lawmakers to clarify what happened to the wage hike bill.
Meanwhile, Minority Floor Leader and soon-to-be senator Francis Escudero told Malacañang to accept the decision of the Supreme Court. He said, “Hiling naming, gawin nang permanente ang paglaya ni Ka Bel… para magampanan niya ang kanyang tungkuling bilang kinatawan ng Kongreso.” (It is our hope that they grant permanent freedom for Ka Bel … so that he can perform his duty as a representative of the Congress.)
He added, “Tigilan na ang panggigipit, pagpatay sa mga grupong hindi sumasang-ayon sa administrasyon.” (Stop persecution, killings of groups critical to the administration.)(Bulatlat.com)
