Rebellion Charge
Baseless, Beltran’s Lawyers Say
Beltran’s
Incarceration, a Dent in the Country’s Judicial Proceedings
The rebellion charge
against detained Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) Rep. Crispin Beltran is
“baseless,” says Romeo Capulong, one of Beltran’s lawyers. Capulong added
that the continued detention of Beltran is “too high a price to pay” for
an innocent man and a “dent in our judicial proceedings”.
BY EMILY VITAL
Bulatlat
The
rebellion charge against detained Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) Rep. Crispin
Beltran is “baseless,” says his lawyers.
Romeo
Capulong, one of Beltran’s lawyers, said in a March 7 hearing at Branch 38
of the Makati Regional Trial Court that there was “no probable cause” for
charging the solon with rebellion, a non-bailable offense.
The hearing
was precipitated by the filing of a motion for judicial determination of
probable cause filed by Beltran’s lawyers, Romeo Capulong, Rachel Pastores,
and Amelyn Sato.
“Even the
most brief illegal incarceration is too high a price to pay considering
the case at hand,” Capulong said. “It is a dent in our judicial
proceedings. You are doing it to an innocent man, a member of Congress at
that.”
Out of the
47 documents that were submitted –11 affidavits of witnesses and 36
enclosures – only three affidavits may be considered as relevant evidence,
Capulong said. Capulong went on to disprove the claims of three
prosecution witnesses.
In an
affidavit, a certain Raul Catsuella – who identified himself as a rebel
returnee now with the Philippine Army’s 2nd Infantry Division
based at Camp Capinpin, Tanay, Rizal (53 kms. north of Manila) – said he
saw Beltran and five other party-list representatives attending the 10th
plenum of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)
allegedly held in August 1992. In the same affidavit, Catsuella said
Beltran was with the New People’s Army (NPA), the CPP’s armed component,
from August 1992 to February 1993.
The five
other party-list representatives being referred to in the affidavit,
namely Reps. Satur Ocampo, Teddy Casiño and Joel Virador of Bayan Muna
(People First), Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis, and Liza Maza of the Gabriela
Women’s Party (GWP) were also charged with rebellion. Threatened with
arrest, the five are now under the protective custody of the House of
Representatives.
“Incredible”
Catsuella’s
allegation is “inherently incredible,” Capulong said.
He showed
the court Beltran’s passport, which revealed that in the period he was
supposedly with the NPA, Beltran had gone to France and Osaka, Japan. “[We
have a] complete record of all his activities, including his trips
abroad,” Capulong said.
”Assuming it
is true,” Capulong added, “How can you use that alleged attendance (of the
meeting) as a basis for rebellion? Fourteen years ago! This is a mere
concoction.”
Another
affidavit by Maj. Rino Corpuz alleged that in the Feb. 24 rally, Beltran
made the following call: “Ibagsak ang rehimen! Palayasin si Arroyo!
Palitan ang gobyernong Arroyo ng gobyernong anakpawis!” (Down with
this regime! Oust Arroyo! Replace the Arroyo government with the
government of the toiling masses!)
Capulong
said Beltran was not in the program and did not give any interview.
Moreover, Capulong insisted that the same alleged utterances were used in
another case against Beltran – inciting to sedition.
Another
witness, Roel Escala, said in an affidavit that he saw Beltran and the
five other party-list representatives alighting from a van at Bukal
village, Padre Garcia, Batangas last February 20.
It was in
Batangas that 1Lt. Lawrence San Juan, a Magdalo leader who escaped from
prison in January, was recaptured.
“(This is a)
patent lie,” Capulong said. “Beltran was in Congress on Feb. 20. He
attended two committee meetings and a session.”
Capulong
said there was also no mention of Beltran’s name in the documents reported
to have been confiscated from
San Juan
on Feb. 25.
Unprepared?
Meanwhile,
Emmanuel Velasco, senior state prosecutor, asked the presiding judge for
15 days to file their comment. Velasco claimed they never received the
motion filed by Beltran’s lawyers. “(We have) never read (it) up to this
moment.”
Velasco said
they have yet to file more pieces of evidence.
“We regret
they did not come prepared,” Capulong said.
Sixto
Marella Jr., presiding judge, has given public prosecutors seven days to
file their comment.
Illegal
arrest
Capulong
said there had been three attempts to justify the arrest without warrant
of Beltran. He cited the 21-year old warrant in a 1985 rebellion charge
against Beltran. The second one was the inciting to sedition case. The
latest attempt was the rebellion charge.
Capulong
said that when he reminded the prosecutors that the 1985 case was already
dismissed, they filed the inciting to sedition case. When they told the
prosecutors that Beltran has parliamentary immunity for the inciting to
sedition case as it carries a penalty of less than six years imprisonment,
the prosecutors filed the rebellion case.
“The public
prosecutors must make up their minds,” he said. Bulatlat
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