Comedy of desperate errors
Solicitor General Alfredo Benipayo quit because he was pressured by Malacanang. Aminin ba naman niya in a Supreme Court hearing on PP1017 thatthe implementation of the said proclamation was irregular.
Despite Malacanang and DOJ secretary Siraulo Gonzales that Benipayo resigned because the guy was exhausted, it’s patently obvious that Benipayo was forced to quit because of his booboo of an admission.
How does one defend the indefensible? Like trying to walk completely upright a perpendicular mountainside.
At least Benipayo, in the most quiet of nights, can tell himself that he did not completely lie during that SC hearing.
Forcing oneself to continually lie and defend an admnistration utterly lacking in credibility and moral ascendancy must wreak so much damage on the soul. Talk about committing iredeemable sins.
Imagine having to lie for a living!
Which is what the likes of Raul Gonzales and Eduardo Ermita are doing. Demented minds really do flourish in the government. Or twisted souls. How does one continue to insist on defending an admnistration that almost everyone wants removed from power? How does one justify all the hours spend concocting lies and excuses to justify putting up razor-wire fences around the democratic space?
There are reports that the AFP are set to raid the offices of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP). What does this aim to achieve?
The Macapagal-Arroyo admnistration like any other fascist dictatorship views wide-awake media as a dangerous threat, and the NUJP as well as other self-respecting, rational-thinking members of the media know better than to clam up and allow this government to impose more restrictions, violate more civil and democratic rights and arrest anyone and everyone who dares question the administration.
In the meantime, Raul Gonzales’ department of injustice has come up with supposed witnesses to negotiations between the six progressive party-list lawmakers and military groups as well as with the NPA.
Huh?!!! It’s like a chapter right of Alice Through the Looking-Glass, only not amusing like the Walrus and the Carpenter and those poor, stupid oysters.
I worked five years with Crispin Beltran and also with Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza, and never in my experience were there meetings on overthrowing the government via coup de etats or military-led uprisings. To be truthful, and speaking as an insider, the legislators mostly expressed frustration with their work inside congress, and how much more they could do if only the other lawmakers would pay more attention to genuine social issues and their impact on their respective constituencies instead of merely obeying Malacanang and letting themselves be wooed by Speaker Jose de Venecia.
It’s pathetic how desperate Raul Gonzales has become in his attempt to pin down the six legislators of Bayan Muna, Anakpawis and Gabriela Women’s Party. Even if he planted bugs and microphones in the congressional offices of these lawmakers, what would they have heard would be the frustrated wailing of the young staffers, frustrated over the idiocy of certain congressmen and women (there was one who insisted on referring to the deadly H51 virus as ‘bird’s flu’ and she expressed concern not for the potential threat against public health and safety BUT FOR THE CHICKEN AND GEESE INDUSTRY.)
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“War is the highest form of struggle for resolving contradictions, when they have developed to a certain stage between classes, nations, states or political grous, and it has existed ever since the emergence of private property and of classes.
War is the continuation of politics. In this sense, war is politics and war itself is a political action; since ancient times there has never been a war that did not have a political character.
But war has its own particular characteristics and in this sense it cannot be equated with politics in general.When politics developes to a certain stage beyond which it cannot proceed by the usual means, war breaks out to sweep the obstacles from the way…When the obstacle is removed and our political aim attained, the war will stop. But if the obstacle is not completely swept awat, the war will have to continue till the aim is fully accomplished…It can therefore be said that politics is war without bloodshed, while war is politics with bloodshed. ”
This is Mao on war and politics.
We are at war every day.
To deny this is to either fall victim, or to be an apologist or a denial king/queen.
Do not delude yourself and believe that it’s possible to sit on the fence and be safe there.
Acknowledge the existence of war and the necessity for it - defend yourself, your rights, and all that you love and care for.
The enemy exists, and it will show neither kindness nor compassion as it itself is determined to protect itself, its own interests and its stranglehold on the world’s wealth.
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FACTUAL CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE ILLEGAL ARREST
AND DETENTION OF PARTY-LIST REP. CRISPIN BELTRAN [1]
Honorable Crispin Beltran is a duly elected Partylist member of Congress belonging to Anakpawis who is now serving his second term in office. At 10:10 a.m. on 25 February 2006 he was arrested in Del Monte City, Bulacan by a team of PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) operatives led by a certain Major Rino Corpus. The arrest of Congressman Beltran was made without a warrant of arrest in violation of his rights under the Bill of Rights, and while Congress was in regular session which was also in violation of his privilege from arrest under Section 10, Article VII of the Constitution. The arresting operatives of the CIDG did not inform him of their authority or of the cause or basis of the arrest, which is again a violation of Section 8, Rule 113 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure.
In the CIDG Headquarters in Camp Crame where he was brought after he was arrested, Congressman Beltran’s lawyers asked for the basis of his arrest. The members of the arresting team showed his lawyers a photocopy of an alleged warrant of arrest dated October 7, 1985 (or almost 21 years ago) issued by RTC Branch 84, Quezon City Judge Edgardo Tutaan in Criminal Case No. Q- 21905. Congressman Beltran’s lawyers informed the arresting officers that this case had already been dismissed in 1988 and promised to present the order of dismissal on February 27, 2006. The lawyers questioned the legality of the arrest and demanded the immediate release of Congressman Beltran. The CIDG operatives refused to release him, insisting that only PNP Director General Arturo Lomibao could order such release. From 11:00 a.m. until around 4:00 p.m. of February 25, 2006 Congressman Beltran, his lawyers and his wife and children pleaded in vain with his captors to allow him to see or talk to General Lomibao by phone. This was refused on the flimsy excuse that the latter was busy. At around 5:00 pm. of February 25, Congressman Beltran’s lawyers wrote General Lomibao a letter, in which the lawyers narrated the circumstances of the illegal arrest, invoked Congressman Beltran’s constitutional rights, demanded his immediate release and gave notice that failure to do so would render Lomibao and the “other officers and public officials who ordered or sanctioned his (Beltran’s) arrest and detention criminally, civilly and administratively liable.”
The reason for the unreasonable behavior and illegal acts of Lomibao and company in refusing to release and maliciously prolonging the arbitrary detention of Congressman Beltran would later be revealed when his captors and custodians informed him that he would be subjected to an inquest proceeding that night of February 25 for the newly- concocted offence of inciting to sedition. His lawyers vigorously objected to the inquest proceeding and further detention of the congressman, invoking his constitutional privilege of immunity from arrest for alleged crimes punishable by not more than six years of imprisonment (Section II, Article VI, 1989 Constitution). The defense lawyers argued that inciting to sedition which was the “new” crime imputed to Congressman Beltran was punishable by the maximum period of prision correcional or not more than six years under Article 142 of the Revised Penal Code and, therefore, covered by parliamentary immunity. The inquest prosecutors from the City Prosecutor’s Office of Quezon City, obviously acting under orders from their superiors and in collusion with the PNP, rejected the defense of parliamentary immunity and proceeded with the inquest proceedings which lasted until 2:00 a.m. of February 26, which was a Sunday.
Congressman Beltran’s lawyers waited until Monday, February 27 hoping that the court of law could be the last recourse, to invoke parliamentary immunity, the right to bail or a habeas corpus petition. After the inquest proceeding, inquest prosecutor Ben dela Cruz resolved to file the case, subject to the approval of his superiors (either City Prosecutor Claro Arellano or First Assistant City Prosecutor Maynard Bautista) and recommended bail of P12,000. In the early morning of February 27, Congressman Beltran’s lawyers went to the Docket Sections of the Quezon City Court and learned that the case had not been filed yet. Proceeding to the City Prosecutors Office in the same building, the defense lawyers found out from the case folder of the City Prosecutor (which they were allowed to read but not to copy) that Inquest Prosecutor dela Cruz reversed himself, amended his first resolution and recommended in the amended resolution the dismissal of the case, subject to the approval First Assistant Prosecutor Maynard Bautista or City Prosecutor Claro Arellano and any assistant prosecutor authorized by the latter. The defense lawyers waited for both prosecutors the whole morning of February 27. City Prosecutor Arellano was supposedly in the Department of Justice and could not be reached. Assistant City Prosecutor Bautista reported for work briefly but left abruptly supposedly for health reasons. Later, in the morning, the defense lawyers were told by a staff member of Arellano that the case had been referred to Prosecutor Mercedes Penamora. The latter, however, told the defense lawyers that she could not act on their request that the amended resolution of dela Cruz be immediately acted upon without express authority from Arellano.
It is clear that there is deliberate machination and malicious delay on the inciting to sedition case against Cong. Beltran committed by prosecutors Arellano, Bautista and Penamora. These three public prosecutors were evidently acting on orders of their superiors and in concert with the PNP officers involved in the illegal arrest and political persecution of Congressman Beltran. The reason for this deliberate machination and malicious delay would later be revealed when at midday of February 27, Congressman Beltran informed his lawyers that he was brought to the CIDG Headquarters without being told the reason. In fact, he was told by his custodians initially that he would be brought to the PNP Hospital. And said he has not been feeling well ever since he was arrested, he reluctantly went with his custodians, not suspecting that he would be brought to the CIDG Headquarters to be subjected to another inquest proceeding, this time for the alleged offense of rebellion.
The defense lawyers rushed to the CIDG Headquarters to question the actions of the PNP and the Department of Justice. They placed on record their position that the intended inquest proceeding was a sham, farcical, scripted and a mockery of our system of justice. After raising the question of independence and impartiality of the panel of prosecutors, Cong. Beltran and his lawyers asked to be excused. The panel of prosecutors and the PNP custodians physically prevented Cong. Beltran and his lawyers from leaving, using the row of tables in the conference room and the human phalanx of uniformed policemen and women to block their exit.
We respectfully submit that the foregoing narration of the relevant background and antecedent facts of this case indubitably prove the following:
1.1 there was a deliberate scheme to arrest Congressman Beltran without a warrant of arrest and to file criminal charges and detain him indefinitely
1.2 the deliberate machination and malicious delay in resolving the request for immediate release contained in Annex “2” and in resolving the inciting to sedition case were purposely intended to await the hasty filing and questionable conduct of inquest proceeding for rebellion
1.3 this is a serious case of malicious persecution of Congressman Beltran on account of his political beliefs and activities.
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[1] This is part of the pleading Motion for Judicial Determination of Probable Cause filed by the lawyers of Party-list Congressman Crispin Beltran, Attys. Romeo T. Capulong, Rachel F. Pastores and Amyln B. Sato of the Public Interest Law Center in Criminal Case No. 06-452 entitled People of the Philippines vs. Lawrence San Juan, Crispin Beltran, et al., now pending before the Regional Trial Court of Makati City, Branch 137:
