Senators recommend raps vs Manapat

Two Senate committees have recommended the filing of criminal and administrative charges against former National Archives director Ricardo Manapat and the disbarment of lawyer Victorino Fornier for presenting alleged forged documents to support the disqualification case against actor and opposition presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr.

This was contained in a draft report being circulated for signing by members of the Senate committees on electoral reforms and constitutional amendments on revisions of codes and laws, both chaired by Sen. Edgardo Angara.

Four opposition lawmakers and two from the administration have already signed the report. Among those who signed the committee report were Senators Angara, Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Loren Legarda and Sergio Osmeña.

Senators Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and Juan Flavier from the administration also signed the report.

Sources disclosed Senators Vicente Sotto III and Teresa Aquino-Oreta, who have yet to sign the report, will complete the required eight signatures for plenary debates.

Angara, however, said he cannot prematurely divulge the details of the draft committee report.

The draft report spelled out the alleged offenses, including infidelity in the custody of documents, falsification, perjury, incriminatory machinations, graft, theft, and obstruction of justice against Manapat before the Office of the Ombudsman.

The Senate committees also recommended disbarment proceedings against Fornier before the Supreme Court for presenting spurious documents to support his claims before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) seeking to disqualify Poe from the presidential race because the actor is not a natural-born Filipino citizen.

The committee reports also recommended before the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to place Manapat and Fornier under their watch list to prevent them from leaving the country.

Angara admitted that he personally circulated the draft committee report for signing by his colleagues from both sides of the political fence. "We have a draft report, but we cannot disclose the content of that (report) yet because the signature is not yet complete. I don’t want to announce an incomplete report. We will announce it tomorrow (today)," he said.

The draft report also stated the senators gave weight to the testimonies of three archives employees who claimed they were ordered by Manapat to forge the documents.

The report on the Senate inquiry stemmed from the earlier privilege speech by Sotto claiming Manapat fabricated the documents to support Poe’s disqualification. — Jose Rodel Clapano