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THE
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) on
Wednesday asked six civilians to explain their presence
at the Peninsula Hotel in Makati City while the group of
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV was staging a rebellion on
November 29.
The
civilians invited to appear before the CIDG on Friday
are lawyer Lorna Kapunan, Linda Montayre, former mayor
Abner Afuang of Pagsanjan, Laguna, Jose Luis “Linggoy”
Alcuaz, Bishop Antonio Tobias and Magdalo lawyer Vicente
Verdadero.
Director
Edgardo Doromal, CIDG chief, said the six were with the
group of Trillanes at the hotel, as shown by video
footage that investigators are now reviewing as source
of possible evidence.
“They
have been invited to shed light on the incident, explain
why they were there and give a factual account of what
they were doing there, and if they have something to do
with the incident,” he said.
Doromal,
however, clarified that the civilians were not under
investigation for their possible involvement in the
rebellion.
On
Tuesday Trillanes and the other members of the Magdalo
Group apologized to Makati City Judge Oscar Pimentel for
walking out of his hearing on their coup case and
marching to the hotel.
The
judge accepted their apologies, but warned that they
would be punished severely should they do the same thing
again.
Also,
Doromal said they are going to review other footage
taken by television stations during the hotel siege as
they build cases for the rebel soldiers and their
civilian supporters.
The CIDG
has already requested broadcast networks ABS-CBN, RPN 9,
GMA 7, ABC 5, NBN 4, UNTV and Net 25 to submit their
video footage of the incident.
However,
only RPN 9 has so far complied with the request.
Doromal
said they would also ask the Supreme Court to come up
with a legal opinion regarding the subpoena powers of
the CIDG.
He said
they would ask the High Court to make a ruling whether
the CIDG can penalize those who refuse to honor its
summons.
Meanwhile, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said he has
received reports that the Southern Police District (SPD)
chief, Senior Supt. Jaime Calungsod, has made attempts
to implicate him to the
Manila
Peninsula
incident.
Binay
said he has received reliable information that Calungsod
has been pressuring Makati policemen to admit that he
ordered them to allow the group of Trillanes to walk out
of the courtroom and head to the Peninsula Hotel on
November 29.
Binay
has sent a letter to Calungsod to confront him on the
matter.
“This
desperate attempt of yours to implicate me in the
Peninsula incident smacks of this administration’s
heavy-handed, though clumsy, approach to achieving your
evil objectives. Undue pressure on witnesses, suspects,
or even victims in order for them to tell a story far
removed from the truth, but according to your script,
has been resulted in the past. Indeed, there seems to be
a growing breed in this administration’s record of false
testimonies, and of hiding and twisting the truth just
to achieve its malevolent and malicious ends,” Binay
said in his letter to Calungsod.
The
mayor, likewise, added that Calungsod’s efforts to build
a case against him could be a means of laying the
groundwork for another suspension.
“It is
dubious the way they have been trying hard to link me to
the walkout and build a case against me,” Binay said. |
