SC junks disbarment case vs Angara

The Supreme Court has dismissed the disbarment case filed against Sen. Edgardo Angara by a provincial journalist in connection with an alleged conspiracy to hatch a demolition job against First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo.

In a 24-page decision penned by Associate Justice Minita Chico-Nazario, the SC’s First Division junked the complaint filed by provincial reporter Art Sampana against Angara and lawyer Demaree JB Raval, a consultant in the senator’s office, seeking to reverse a decision of the Commission on Bar Discipline of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.

Sampana claimed that Raval persuaded him to include false accusations in his affidavit dated Aug. 22, 2001 against Arroyo and other personalities in a range of controversies, among them the P250-million fund scam at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

He accused Angara and Raval of violating the Code of Professional Responsibility, rendering them unfit to practice law.

But the SC ruled: "It is well-settled that conspiracy must be shown to exist as clearly and as convincingly as the commission of the offense itself. Evidently, complainant failed to establish the existence of conspiracy between respondents Raval and Angara."

The high court said Sampana’s complaint was not supported by any other evidence except his own affidavit, while Angara and Raval were able to counter his allegations.

The SC said that even Sampana’s companion, PCSO consultant Robert Rivero, who allegedly witnessed the meeting between the complainant and Raval, did not execute an affidavit to support his complaint.

It further took note of Sampana’s admission of his involvement in some shady deals wherein he agreed to "hit" or implicate some personalities and politicians in illegal activities in exchange for money.

"This, to our mind, casts doubt on the credibility of complainant and his statements in the instant case," the SC said.

Court records showed that in the second week of August 2001, Rivero called up Sampana and told him to "help" Angara and Sen. Panfilo Lacson in implicating Arroyo to the PCSO fund scam in exchange for P1 million and "other benefits," including the printing and marketing of complainant’s book, which Sampana was writing at that time.

Thereafter, Sampana and Rivero met with the group of Raval at the Westin Philippine Plaza Hotel in Pasay City on Aug. 22 where Sampana was to execute an affidavit against former Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Brig. Gen. Victor Corpus and Sen. Joker Arroyo, to be used at the Senate hearings. Corpus and Arroyo were then implicating Lacson to some illegal activities.

At the course of writing his statement, Raval allegedly told the complainant that he would add some details to his affidavit to get back at Corpus and Arroyo, who were then linking Lacson to drug-trafficking activities.

Raval also allegedly told Sampana to state in his affidavit that Sen. Vicente Sotto was not in anyway connected with suspected drug lord Florencio "Rey" Parena.

Due to Raval’s insistence, the complainant finally relented to the additions in his affidavit. For his efforts, someone from Angara’s office allegedly gave him P10,000 sealed in an envelop as initial payment for his "cooperation."

After coming out with an article in a tabloid, Sampana supposedly demanded payment from the respondents. — James Mananghaya