FPJ camp to seek disbarment of Forniers

Supporters of Fernando Poe Jr. will seek the disbarment of two lawyers who sought his disqualification from the May presidential race over questions about his citizenship.

Last Monday, the Freedom, Peace and Justice Movement (FPJM) filed a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman accusing Andresito Fornier and his brother Victorino of falsifying documents to back their petition before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) seeking Poe’s disqualification.

Also included in the complaint was Ricardo Manapat, chief of the Records Management and Archives Office.

The FPJM also filed an administrative complaint against Manapat accusing him of "grave misconduct, abuse of authority and dishonesty" for allegedly fabricating documents that the Forniers used in their petition.

A disbarment suit against the Forniers will be filed with the Supreme Court probably within the week, FPJM official Julius Raboca said.

The Fornier brothers were not immediately available for comment.

Raboca said the two committed perjury for knowingly presenting false evidence during a Comelec hearing on their petition Monday last week and are therefore liable for disbarment.

Manapat told the same Comelec hearing that the documents supporting the petition came from the National Archives and were authentic.

The following day, however, three archives employees accused Manapat in a Senate inquiry that he ordered them to forge the documents used in the petition — Poe’s birth certificate and the marriage contract of his father and supposedly another woman.

Manapat denied the allegations.

Yesterday, the three employees — Emman Llamera, Remmel Talabis and Vicelyn Tarin — filed a complaint accusing Manapat of perjury, falsification of public documents and obstruction of justice.

"In the paramount objective of protecting the nation’s interest and in pursuit of truth, we have decided to institute appropriate criminal charges against Manapat," they said in their 11-page complaint filed with the Manila City Prosecutors office.

Raboca claimed there was a conspiracy between the Forniers and Manapat to have Poe disqualified.

Victorino Fornier, who originally filed the petition, said Poe was not qualified to seek the presidency because he is not a Filipino citizen.

Poe should take his mother’s American citizenship because he was allegedly born out of wedlock, Fornier argued. Fornier presented a marriage certificate purportedly showing that Poe’s father was already married to another woman.

Under the law, only natural-born Filipinos may run for president.

However, the Comelec’s first division rejected the petition. It said Poe was a natural-born Filipino citizen because his father was a Filipino citizen despite the elder Poe’s Spanish heritage.

Andresito Fornier filed a motion for reconsideration asking the full seven-member commission to reverse the ruling.

Poe’s camp suspects that the petition was being orchestrated by Malacañang to derail the political neophyte’s presidential bid.

Palace officials rejected the charge, saying someone else who probably wants to discredit President Arroyo may be involved.

Meanwhile, Poe supporters accuse the Arroyo administration of spying on them.

Manuel Portes, FPJM president, said three unidentified men escorted by two policemen with M-16 automatic rifles were spotted taking photographs of the Quezon City headquarters of the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino, Poe’s political coalition.

"We deplore the Gestapo-like harassment by Malacañang," Portes said, referring to Adolf Hitler’s secret police. "We really think that it was Malacañang that placed us under surveillance."

The same men were seen taking photographs of the building on E. Rodriguez Avenue earlier this week, Portes said.

"We are now taking security measures to protect ourselves. Some of the officers have started fearing for their lives. It is clear that this administration is hell-bent on keeping power," he said.

Poe opened the KNP headquarters last Saturday, a day after the Comelec’s first division junked the disqualification petition against him.

During the opening of the headquarters, Poe vowed to press on with his presidential bid.

His supporters said they will go all-out in the campaign. Horacio Morales, president of the Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino, one of the parties making up the KNP, said the PMP and its affiliates are currently mobilizing their ranks for the campaign. — With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Mike Frialde