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MEMBERS
of the so-called Batasan 6 are expected to return and
reunite in the House of Representatives on Monday
following last week’s dismissal of the Supreme Court of
their rebellion case.
Party-List Reps. Satur Ocampo, Joel Virador and Teddy
Casiño of Bayan Muna, Crispin Beltran and Rafael Mariano
of Anakpawis and Liza Maza of Gabriela are expected to
attend the start of the four-day closing session of the
Thirteenth Congress.
Bayan
Muna said that at the opening of office hours on Monday,
the legislators, except Beltran, will ask Branch 146 of
the Regional Trial Court in Makati City to dismiss the
charges against them and immediately order Beltran’s
release.
Bayan
Mua said that it expects the court to grant the
petition, as the dismissal of the case had been earlier
ordered by the SC.
As soon
as the RTC in
Makati issues the written dismissal and release orders, the five
congressmen and their lawyer, Romeo Capulong, will fetch
Beltran from the Philippine Heart Center.
Aside
from rebellion, Beltran is also facing inciting to
sedition charges, a crime punishable with a maximum
penalty of less than six years, but which his colleagues
said, makes him eligible for parliamentary immunity.
The
Regional Trial Court in
Quezon City,
which is hearing the inciting to rebellion case, has
long issued a release order for Beltran. Ocampo said
their reunion, which he hopes would take place, is “a
symbol of hope amid the gloom of political repression.”
“Plans
for our Monday reunion are still not final. We may still
encounter problems like a putative motion for
reconsideration hinted by Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye
even as the Arroyo government already made assurances to
the international community that it will respect the
outcome of the Supreme Court petitions and not hinder
Beltran’s petitions to be released from detention,” he
said.
Beltran
said that he would immediately deliver a speech urging
the House to pass his pet measure, the bill granting a
P125 across-the-board wage increase for workers
nationwide.
“Many of
our colleagues and committee staff have long missed Ka
Bel and we expect them to applaud his return and to
listen to his important remarks at the plenary session,”
said Mariano.
Mariano
said the last four session days of Congress should be
devoted to propeople bills and resolutions.
“The
best way to commemorate 100 years of the House of
Representatives is to faithfully serve the people who
own this House,” said Mariano. “Ka Bel’s P125 wage hike
bill is one such bill long demanded by the people.”
Meanwhile, Malacañang said that Beltran cannot sue the
government for arresting him and five other leftist
lawmakers on rebellion charges as there is no law to
support such legal action.
Chief
Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol told reporters
that Beltran would have to file a bill that would allow
people in his position to file a case against the
government.
“There
is no law allowing the government to be sued if the
complainant-plaintiff is facing a rebellion case because
the government is just doing its function against the
threat of rebellion, which is a very complicated case.
You cannot just sue the government for protecting the
people and the state,” Apostol said, reacting to
Beltran’s plan.
He added
that the case, which involves a non-bailable offense, is
“not just an ordinary case.”
Asked
what Beltran can do to allow others like him to hale the
government to court, Apostol said: “He is a congressman,
then file a bill calling for that.”
Beltran,
who was detained for 15 months following his arrest on
rebellion charges with five others, earlier said that he
would sue government officials involved in his arrest.
National
Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, who believes that he
along with Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez may be
included in Beltran’s planned suit, said he is prepared
to respond to any legal battle.
“I will
wait for that. It’s not a problem for me . . . I know
that what the government did was right. We’ll just all
see each other in court,” Gonzales said.
He said
he is “quite disappointed” with the SC’s ruling but
noted that it is not yet final because Solicitor General
Agnes Devanadera will appeal the decision through a
motion for reconsideration because of its negative
impact on law enforcement.
“There
is no excuse for armed rebellion. Hopefully others would
not be inspired to do the same thing . . . [But] I
don’t consider this a setback for the government. There
are no victors here. The people would be the ones
suffering,” he said.
Press
Secretary Ignacio Bunye said that Devanadera’s move is
prompted by the SC ruling’s “potentially adverse effect
on law enforcement.”
“While
we will respect and fully abide by the Supreme Court’s
final ruling, and are committed to maintain the
integrity of criminal prosecutions in general and
preliminary investigations in particular, it is well
within the rights of the Solicitor General as the
statutory counsel of the national government to file
this Motion for Reconsideration,” Bunye said.
--With M. Gonzalez |
