Rebellion raps vs 4 in ‘Erap 5’ dismissed

Four of the so-called "Erap 5" who were arrested last May were cleared of plotting to overthrow the government while their companion was charged with rebellion by the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday.

No bail was recommended for Ruben Dionisio, an alleged secretary of the communist movement, who was charged under Article 134 in relation to Article 135 of the Revised Penal Code as amended by Republic Act 6968, Senior State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco said.

For lack of probable cause, Virgilio Eustaquio, Jim Lucio Cabauatan, Dennis Ibuna and Jose Justo Curameng were cleared of rebellion by the DOJ before the Quezon City regional trial court (RTC).

The Erap 5, so-called because they are supporters of detained former President Joseph Estrada, were arrested last May 22 while meeting in a house in Kamuning, Quezon City, ostensibly on suspicion of plotting a coup.

Velasco said that from year 2003 until his arrest, Dionisio acted as promoter and leader of the rebellion being waged by the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing New People’s Army and National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).

"He is directly taking orders from the central committee of the CPP-NPA-NDF and executing those orders or directly re-delegating the execution of said orders to the subordinate units of the CPP-NPA-NDF’s Metro Manila regional party committee," Velasco said.

Dionisio, also known as Mike Gamara and Ruben Tiangco, has denied being part of the plot, saying he is a kagawad or councilman of Barangay Pag-ibig in Quezon City.

But according to Velasco, Dionisio’s "liability arose from his role as a promoter of rebellion or leader of one of the units of the CPP-NPA. Any person who promotes, maintains, or heads a rebellion or insurrection, and even a person who merely participates or executes the command of others in an armed struggle is liable for rebellion."

In filing the charges against Dionisio, Velasco gave credence to the affidavit of witness Arnel Alonzo, a confessed member of the CPP-NPA liquidation squad, that the communist hierarchy has issued an order to assassinate certain members of the Arroyo Cabinet as part of its armed struggle to overthrow the government.

"A careful evaluation of the affidavit of Alonzo shows that the latter has personal knowledge with respect to the role of respondent Dionisio in the ongoing armed struggle of the CPP-NPA against the government. Between the positive testimony of the prosecution witnesses and the mere negative averment of the accused, the former is entitled to greater evidentiary weight," Velasco explained.

Elements of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Criminal Investigation Detection Group (CIDG) arrested the "Erap 5" in their alleged hideout in Quezon City while allegedly plotting to assassinate members of the Arroyo Cabinet. High-powered firearms and ammunitions were seized in the raid.

Among those purportedly on the hit list were Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, presidential chief of staff Mike Defensor, Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza.

The military top brass initially denied any role in the abduction of the Estrada supporters but later admitted they were under the custody of military intelligence agents.

The military justified the arrest saying the Kamuning raid was part of its monitoring operations of the movements of perceived enemies of the state.

The Erap 5 has filed counter-charges of frustrated murder, grave threats, arbitrary detention, violation of domicile, unlawful arrest, maltreatment of prisoners and incriminatory machination and robbery against the heads and members of the PNP-CIDG and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP).

The Erap 5 said they were arrested without warrant of arrests and were brought to a safehouse where they allegedly underwent severe torture that, they claimed, nearly killed Dionisio. — Jose Rodel Clapano