GMA allies to Gringo: Be man enough to face coup charges

Administration lawmakers reiterated their call on former senator Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan to be man enough to surface and face the accusations against him.

"If he wants to put closure to his case, then he should surrender and defend himself in court," Ilocos Sur Rep. Salacnib Baterina said.

The Ilocos lawmaker likewise urged the former Army colonel to be "gentleman enough to surface and submit himself to the court."

At the same time, Baterina defended the government’s move to include Honasan on the country’s most wanted list with a P5 million bounty for his capture.

He said it is "meant to solicit the public’s help to find out his whereabouts" and effect the arrest quickly.

"Is Gringo above the law so that the practice acceptable for other mortals can’t be applied to him?" Baterina asked.

"Like in past cases, the intention of our law enforcers in putting up a rogues’ gallery is to hasten the capture of fugitives so they can be brought to court and face their cases," he said.

Baterina also refuted claims that being on the most wanted list was proof of guilt.

He reiterated that "the government is not declaring Honasan and the others guilty as charged without the benefit of a trial."

"What presumption of innocence are we talking about? The fact is, Gringo is a fugitive from justice because there is a warrant of arrest issued by the Makati Regional Trial Court against him," Baterina said.

House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles (Davao City) also justified the government’s move, saying this has been the practice of law enforcement agencies all over the world.

The practice of putting a price on any fugitive’s head is meant to hasten their arrest, he said.

"When you are facing charges and you are in hiding it can be done to compel you to surface or to effect your capture. Even international organizations like the FBI and Interpol publish their most wanted lists to hasten the capture of those on the run," Nograles explained.

He cited the legal opinion of noted constitutionalist and former Ateneo Law School Dean Fr. Joaquin Bernas.

"Though he is correct that warrants of arrest must first be issued, our dear Father Bernas also taught us in the Ateneo law school that flight and escape and going into hiding raises a presumption of guilt which may rebut presumption of innocence," Nograles said.

Honasan, through his lawyer Oliver Lozano, denied the accusations that he was the mastermind of a failed coup plot against President Arroyo last month.