No due process says human rights lawyer: Filing of murder raps vs party-list solons assailed

GUIMBA, Nueva Ecija -- Three militant party-list congressmen facing charges of multiple murder before courts in Nueva Ecija accused Malacañang of having stage-managed the revival of the cases to have them removed as "people’s representatives in Congress."

In a press conference in Manila, Bayan Muna Reps. Satur C. Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño, Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza, and former Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano denied any involvement in the killings in Palayan City and Guimba, Nueva Ecija from 2001 to 2004.

The four were tagged as masterminds in the killings of three leaders of Akbayan, another partylist organization that participated in the elections during that time.
Reacting to the filing of charges against the four, an administration lawmaker who requested anonymity said the move was an apparent vindication on the part of the Arroyo government which had been accused by the four of alleged involvement in the series of political killings involving suspected leftist leaders.

However, Ocampo and his group called the charges "blatant lies and Palace-directed" aimed to forcibly remove several representatives in Congress and prevent them from doing their work.

Charged for the killing of three persons in separate incidents in Nueva Ecija were Ocampo, Casiño, Maza, Mariano, and 15 others.

"The filing of fabricated cases against us is obviously the handiwork of the Cabinet cluster on internal security with the blessings of the President," said Ocampo.

He added: "Mrs. Arroyo and her cabal of security officials’ claim that we are top leaders of the communist movement in the trumped-up rebellion case was already dismissed by the Supreme Court last year. This is the same accusation in this case and is no longer valid."

Maza scored the Arroyo government’s continued refusal to comply with the recommendations of United Nations Special Rapporteur Prof. Philip Alston to abolish the Inter-Agency Legal Action Group which is responsible for the case buildup and the filing of trumped-up charges against leaders of progressive party-list and people’s organizations.

"Instead of heeding worldwide pressure and criticisms, the Arroyo administration has stepped up its campaign of political repression against its most vocal critics," Maza stated.

The filing of murder charges in Nueva Ecija last week also came in the wake of Ocampo’s Human Rights Mission in Canada where he met with various parliamentarians and FilCanadian communities, and presented before the Sub-Committee on International Human Rights of Canadian House of Commons the continuing impunity for the killings and disappearances.

Casiño also attended the United Nations Human Rights Commission Universal Periodic Review of the Philippines and helped expose the real sorry state of human rights in the country.

Casiño and Maza also gave an update on continuing cases of political harassment against them at the Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly in South Africa.

Together with Mariano, the three incumbent solons had previously been charged with grave criminal offenses in Leyte that prompted the Department of Justice to order their arrest.

Then Speaker Jose de Venecia took the four in the protective custody of the House until the charges were dismissed by the Supreme Court.

Ocampo said they will not ask the same treatment from Speaker Prospero Nograles if court arrest warrants are issued against them.

Human rights lawyer Romeo T. Capulong cried "foul" over the filing by government prosecutors of two counts of murder and one count of kidnapping with murder against three party-list representatives.

No warrant has yet been issued by the court for the arrest of the accused.

In a press conference last week, Capulong told media people the action of the government was intended "to neutralize the four leaders by filing non-bailable and common crimes to freeze their movements and stifle legitimate dissent."

Capulong said the government filed the trumped-up charges against the four because they have been supporting rallies against the rice crisis and the rising prices of basic commodities, the continued suppression of the people’s right to freedom of expression and widespread corruption in government.

Capulong was scheduled file a motion for judicial determination of probable cause in all the RTC salas where the cases were filed.

Claiming the accused were denied due process of law, he said their motion for confrontation by the supposed witnesses of the accused was denied by the investigating panel.

He said the causes his clients are espousing were mere reflections of the legitimate grievances of the people who have no effective means or forum to air their complaints against the government’s failure to effect practical solutions to the growing national problems that have filtered down to the countryside.

"Once you place behind bars no less than these parliamentarians, who would then be expected to raise his voice against the excesses of the officials in high places?" he said.

He lamented the sad state of the prosecution arm which, he said, has been rendered as tools of their superiors who kow-tow to the will of those who want to stay uncontested in the seat of government.

However, Capulong held as significant a statement in the form of a marginal note entered by Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Eddie Guttierez in the 11-page resolution.
The note state, "I concur in the conclusion. But I would have been more than satisfied if the witnesses for the prosecution were present."

The prosecutors said the accused conspired with other people in the killing of Danilo Felipe in Guimba in 2001, Jimmy Peralta in 2003, and Carlito Bayudang in 2004, both in Bongabon town.

A panel of prosecutors composed of Nueva Ecija Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Antonio Ll. Lapus Jr., lead member, and members Edison Rafanan and Gutierrez recommended no bail for the temporary liberty of the accused.