DOJ TO BRO EDDIE: EVEN JESUS WAS ARRESTED
MANILA, October 6, 2005 (STAR) Just follow in the footsteps of Christ.Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said television evangelist and former presidential candidate Eddie Villanueva should let the police come for him instead of trying to fight off the arrest warrant for him.
"Just tell Bro. Eddie Villanueva that even Jesus Christ was arrested. Maybe Eddie Villanueva thought that because he is Eddie Villanueva, he can never be arrested, whatever crime he committed. But Jesus Christ, he allowed himself to be arrested. He was arrested and he followed the law during his time," Gonzalez told reporters in an interview.
Through his lawyer, Lorna Kapunan, Villanueva sought help from Gonzalez yesterday, seeking more time for her client to file a motion seeking a review of the arrest warrant issued by the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court.
Gonzalez said he would do what he could but emphasized that the matter was still up to the court. "He is asking up to Oct. 12 to file a motion for review," he said.
Villanueva has a right to file such a motion that would allow him a review of his case, Gonzalez explained.
"They will file a motion to suspend the issuance of warrant for his arrest which is normally done when there is a petition for review. It is good for 60 days. If they file a petition for review, we will give them due course," he said.
Villanueva suspects the graft case against him, filed by a cousin of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, is a reprisal for joining the opposition-led call for President Arroyo’s resignation over accusations that she cheated in last year’s presidential election.
"It appears that Benito Araneta, a close cousin of First Gentleman (Jose Miguel) Mike Arroyo, is being used as a pawn," he said at a press conference after learning about the arrest warrant.
Villanueva also claimed that "sources" within the military have warned him about threats to his life. He did not say who would want to kill him.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita rejected Villanueva’s accusations.
"It should not matter if the person is popular. It should be the same when the warrant is issued against ordinary people," he told a press briefing. "Everything is being thrown against the government, including the kitchen sink."
Araneta accuses Villanueva of running away with P15 million that he had paid him for a 2001 deal involving a transfer of Villanueva’s Zoe Broadcasting Network to Araneta’s company, Entertainment Network Ltd. (Enter-Net).
However, Villanueva had earlier inked a similar agreement with another company in 1999.
Villanueva charged that Araneta actually committed estafa, citing unpaid debts of about P200 million for the use of television station Channel 11, which is owned by Zoe.
Enter-Net’s lawyer, Manolet Barcelona, countered that Villanueva was making a political issue out of the case, saying their case against him was "purely a business matter."
"Bro. Eddie should not cry political harassment," Barcelona said in a statement issued to the press. "He should not picture himself as a victim of political harassment because, as I said, Bro. Eddie simply did not honor a contract, that is why we sued him. He should clear his name in court."
Barcelona added that Villanueva was exploiting the issue. "Bro. Eddie should not divert from the real issue — which is he defrauded his business partners — by raising inanities and absurd allegations."
Gonzalez told Villanueva’s lawyer that he could not assure any help for the deferment of the warrant of arrest for Villanueva because the suspension of the arrest order depends on the court.
"They are asking in effect for a consideration of the ruling of the prosecutor because the case starts by filing a complaint with the prosecutor who has jurisdiction which is Mandaluyong and then if you lose there, your recourse is to file a petition for review with the DOJ. If you don’t, the prosecutor will file an information before the court and a warrant of arrest will be issued. That is what happened. They failed to file immediately a petition for review," Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said the DOJ can grant the petition for review, but the question of suspending the warrant is still up to the court.
"Even assuming the court will refuse to grant the suspension of the warrant and I rule here that the case should be dismissed, the case should still be dismissed before the court. The fiscal will withdraw the information because I have the final say on the information. There will (be) an effect because prosecution is the exclusive power of the prosecutors, and prosecutors are under me. As justice secretary I can order the fiscal to file it or not," Gonzalez said.
Since a warrant is already out, Villanueva can be arrested anytime unless it is recalled by the court, he said. "The best for Villanueva to do is to immediately file a motion to suspend. Everything here lies in the hands of the court." — Jose Rodel Clapano, Non Alquitran, Aurea Calica
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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