Guingona supports Defensor

Senate Minority Leader Teofisto Guingona Jr. yesterday threw his full support behind Quezon City Rep. Michael Defensor in the latter's running feud with Chief Superintendent Edgar Aglipay and four policemen of the Central Police District (CPD).

Defensor's responding to the pleas for help of four women arrested for vagrancy by the CPD has led to the filing of charges against him by Aglipay for alleged interference in police operations.

Guingona said that Defensor did the correct thing in responding to the call for assistance of his (Defensor's) constituents.

Guingona stressed that Defensor would have been remiss in his duties as representative of the people had he ignored the pleas for assistance.

He, however, added that it might be necessary to define the manner in which assistance could be extended by solons to their constituents to avoid the controversy generated by the Defensor case.

This came as Chief Superintendent Victor Luga, CPD director, accepted yesterday the dare of Defensor to have his four men undergo lie detector tests to prove who is telling the truth.

Luga did not express any hesitation when he said he would allow Inspector Felicisima Buco and Police Officers 1 Rennet Jamor, Jonathan Hornadal and Allan Paul Tesado to undergo the lie detector test.

"I believe in them," he stressed.

However, Luga added that he would still need the clearance of Aglipay, the National Capital Regional Police Office director.

In the past two weeks, Aglipay and Defensor have been hurling charges and countercharges in the media over the arrest last Feb. 16 of Karen de Guzman, Georgilyn Feriles, Jammer Adrias and Rona Villareal at the Padi's Point bar and restaurant in Timog Avenue, Quezon City.

The four pleaded guilty to the charge of vagrancy. They have since moved to repudiate that guilty plea. They have also filed charges against the arresting policemen with the Commission on Human Rights for alleged violation of their rights. --