CHAVIT TO ERAP: PROVE YOUR INNOCENCE INSTEAD OF ATTACKING ME
MANILA, March 31, 2006 (STAR) By Mike Frialde - Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson challenged ousted President Joseph Estrada yesterday to use his appearances in court to prove his innocence on the charges of plunder and perjury instead of attacking his credibility as the government’s star witness."After two days on the witness stand and months of preparation by his more than a dozen lawyers, Estrada has not yet presented any piece of document or issued any concrete testimony to back up his desperate lie of innocence," he said in a statement.
"Instead, he was using his appearances before the (Sandiganbayan) special division to publicly discredit me, which will not do anything for his case."
Singson, who had accused Estrada of pocketing kickbacks from P200 million in Ilocos Sur tobacco excise taxes and for allegedly receiving bribes from jueteng operators, said rather than presenting his own information to defend himself on the charges, Estrada took the witness stand and quoted third-party reports prepared by former National Bureau of Investigation regional director Carlos Saunar.
"Like those who are following the plunder case, I am tired of hearing Estrada’s repeated lies and his recitals of innocence without seeing any documentary proof," he said.
"I am raring to see evidence from him. He should remember that I produced documentary evidence (against him). Not only that, they were supported and corroborated by other evidence and testimonies from other witnesses such as those of more than a dozen bank officials," Singson said.
In his court testimonies, Estrada has repeatedly called Singson a liar and denied the governor’s claim that they were close friends.
Last Wednesday, Estrada, testifying for the second time in his defense at the special division, said Singson lied in his testimony and claimed that it was the Ilocos Sur governor who had pocketed millions of pesos in tobacco excise tax earmarked for the Ilocos Sur provincial government as revealed by Saunar’s investigation.
In his second court appearance, Estrada also denied knowing persons identified by Singson as having served as bagmen for him.
Estrada also told the court during direct examination by retired Manila fiscal Jose Flaminiano, one of his lawyers, that he did not recognize a check and bank documents allegedly covering the transfer of some P130 million in tobacco excise tax kickbacks.
Rosales back from Vatican The Philippine Star 03/31/2006
Newly ordained Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales arrived yesterday in Manila from Rome and called on Filipinos to unite and make sacrifices for national unity.
Stepping off Lufthansa Air flight LH 877 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at around 6:25 p.m., Rosales was welcomed by a group of Catholic priests, lay people and media people.
"Napakaganda ng kinabukasan natin, siguro yun ang hinahanap natin, ang magkaisa (Our future looks very bright. Maybe what we are all searching for is unity)," Rosales said.
He said that he has not lost hope that Filipinos will be united one day.
"Sari-sari ang narinig ko pero ako maliwanag may pag-asa tayo. Napakaliwanag po niyan (I hear all sorts of things but it is clear to me that we have hope)," Rosales said.
The cardinal said he was touched by Filipinos’ show of unity when they trooped to Rome for his elevation as Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI. All the Masses he celebrated were very well attended, he added. He said some bishops in Rome had even urged him to return so their churches would once again be filled to capacity.
Rosales disclosed that the Pope had emphasized the Philippines’ important role for the Holy Roman Catholic Church in Asia.
"The Philippines has a big role to play in Asia," Rosales said, adding that the Pope pointed this out to him on two separate occasions when he met the Holy Father.
Rosales is the sixth Filipino cardinal of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. — Rainier Allan Ronda
Lawyers’ group files disbarment case vs DOJ chief By James Mananghaya And Evelyn Macairan The Philippine Star 03/31/2006
Four groups of lawyers will file a disbarment case against Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez before the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) next week.
Meanwhile, Gonzalez told reporters yesterday that he would be ready to face the disbarment case that would be filed against him by the lawyers.
"I’m not stranger to that kind of case," he said. "In fact, I had two disbarment cases that the Supreme Court dismissed."
However, Gonzalez questioned the impartiality of the IBP, claiming that its president, Jose Anselmo Cadiz, had acted with bias against the government.
"How can I get a fair trial before the IBP?" he asked. "Let’s see what will happen."
The lawyers belong to the Counsels for the Defense of Liberties (Codal), Libertas, Young Lawyers’ Group (YLG) and the Alternative Law Groups (ALG).
Speaking to reporters at Max’s Restaurant on Maria Orosa street in Ermita, Manila yesterday, lawyer Neri Javier Colmenares of Codal said they will ask the IBP to recommend that the Supreme Court "immediately suspend Secretary Gonzalez from the practice of law, and after conducting an investigation disbar him and have his name stricken off the roll of attorneys.
"The biggest sin of Justice Secretary Gonzalez was that the DOJ should have conducted a preliminary investigation on complaints filed before them, to look for probable cause," he said.
"But based on prejudgment, na preempt na ang process ng DOJ. This is a violation of due process and rights of respondents."
Colmenares cited in particular the arrest of former social welfare secretary Corazon "Dinky" Soliman after which Gonzalez allegedly said Soliman had "violated three laws" and might even suffer a penalty of "12 years" of imprisonment.
Soliman and Black and White organizer Vicente Romano were apprehended on March 17 by the Manila police for holding a Black Friday protest along the Roxas Boulevard Baywalk in Manila.
Colmenares said other offenses allegedly committed by Gonzalez were:
• Threatening some lawyers and some members of the media;
• Disgraceful attitude and behavior in his post in forcing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to act based on politics and not on the basis of law.
• Violating the ethical standards for government officials and employees.
• Violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Reportedly next on the lawyers’ list are Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye and officials of the Philippine National Police, particularly, National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Vidal Querol.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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