Manapat, Fornier brothers: No sympathy for opposition

The petitioners seeking the disqualification of presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. may not be Malacañang henchmen, but for sure they have no sympathy for the opposition.

Records Management and Archives Office Director Ricardo Manapat and the Fornier and Fornier Law Office indeed collaborated six years ago to disqualify then presidential candidate Alfredo Lim on a similar citizenship issue.

But according to law office senior partner Andresito Fornier, that was the only time they dealt with Manapat until Poe’s citizenship papers fell into their lap.

"That (Lim’s disqualification case) was the first time we met and after that we never saw each other again, except perhaps our other brother who teaches history," said Andresito, the elder of the Fornier brothers.

Their paths crossed again after the Forniers got hold of documents purportedly showing Poe is not a natural-born Filipino. Under the Constitution, this disqualifies him from running for any national office. To this day the Forniers refuse to disclose the source of their documents.

"Naturally, we did not take the documents (at) their face value so we did our own research," said Victorino, the younger of the Fornier brothers.

And so a meeting with Manapat was arranged. The ensuing certification by Manapat that the documents were authentic sparked an uproar from the opposition ranks, which accused the archives director of forgery to suit Malacañang’s behest.

But to some extent, the Forniers and Manapat have their reason to dislike the opposition or at least, sympathize with the administration.

Andresito himself admitted that being an Ateneo political science graduate, his classmates included Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon, one of the senatorial candidates of the administration Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan (K-4).

Andresito was a former champion debater in Metro Manila while studying law in San Beda College. His debating coach then is now presidential candidate Raul Roco.

Victorino added they are also members of Ateneo’s Utopia fraternity. Victorino finished law in Ateneo in 1973, three years before Manapat, who graduated in 1976. First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo is also a graduate of Ateneo College Law.

The Forniers, however, could not tell for sure Manapat’s college degree but said "it had something to do with history." They said Manapat has in the past collaborated with another brother, Jonathan, who has a master’s degree in history.

Manapat, who served in the Records Management and Archives Office since 1996, could not be reached for comment.

Records from the Sandiganbayan, however, showed Manapat has been charged with graft.

He was charged along with Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) chairman Virgilio David, for allegedly using the agency’s facilities for publishing a magazine from 1992 to 1996.

The case had been sent back from the second division to the Office of the Ombudsman for reinvestigation since February 2001. The case is still awaiting resolution.

Manapat was reappointed to his position in August 2002 even without clearance from the anti-graft court and the Civil Service Commission (CSC), notwithstanding his being a career official.

Records from the anti-graft court and the CSC showed Manapat did not even apply for clearance.

According to CSC director Jose Soria, Manapat should have applied for a clearance as a requirement to reassume office since he is considered a career executive service officer (CESO) III.

Manapat, author of the book "Some Are Smarter Than the Others," was arrested by sheriffs of the Sandiganbayan in November 2002, two years after the warrant was issued after one of his subordinates tipped them off on his whereabouts.

But while Manapat may not be directly linked to the present administration, his relatively short stint at the archives office may have had something to do with former President Joseph Estrada’s victory in 1998.

It was during that year when Lim identified Manapat as among those who participated in the disqualification proceedings against him.

After losing to Estrada, Lim subsequently joined the Estrada administration and became interior and local government secretary. He is now a senatorial candidate of the united opposition.

Manapat, on the other hand, returned to his old post in 2002 after Estrada was ousted from office a year earlier.

"We do not know about his background but he appears to us as (a) nerd who loves (to) rummage through things. I think that is the reason he personally did the research on Poe’s papers. It must have caught his interest," Andresito said.

On the other hand, the Forniers maintained they are initiating the petition to disqualify Poe as part of their "crusade," despite their links with some administration and non-opposition political figures.

"Nobody else wants to file. I cannot live with my conscience that our children will have these people as our leaders and we did not do anything about it," Andresito told The STAR after last Monday’s first and only hearing on the disqualification proceedings against Poe.

"This has nothing to do with politics. I am through with politics," the elder Fornier said, referring to his losing bid as assemblyman for Antique during the Marcos regime.

The Forniers are known in political circles in Antique province where a town — Tobias Fornier — was named in their family’s honor.

Their crusade against Poe and Lim however stemmed from certifications issued by Manapat. As to who provided the documents for the Forniers will be now be as important as the question of Poe’s citizenship.

The Forniers, up to now, have never revealed the source of the documents questioning Poe’s citizenship.

On the other hand, Victorino denied allegations that their law firm is a "satellite office" of the Carpio-Villaraza-Cruz law office. He said that if the allegations were true, then the Fornier and Fornier Law Office will also be associated with the ACCRA law firm of Sen. Edgardo Angara, the principal supporter of Poe in the opposition.- With Delon Porcalla