Paule discharged, goes to jail

MANILA, Philippines - Businessman Jaime Paule, alleged bagman and witness in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, was discharged from St. Luke’s Medical Center, Quezon City at about 7:40 p.m. yesterday.

Paule was taken to the Pasay City jail in an ambulance on orders of Senate sergeant-at-arms Jose Balajadia.

Wearing a surgical mask, Paule was accompanied by his lawyer Ferdinand Topacio and daughter Eiriz Ercillo.

Ercillo said the charges against her father were “unfair.” Topacio said the Senate had no jurisdiction to hand over custody of Paule to the Pasay police.

“We were taken aback when we learned they were taking us to the police station,” Ercillo said in Tagalog.

Paule was taken last Tuesday night to St. Luke’s after complaining of chest pains which doctors attributed to gastric esophageal influx disease due to stress.

Senate Blue Ribbon committee chairman Richard Gordon placed him under “hospital arrest.”

Last Feb. 4, the committee convened to consider the motion to cite petitioner in contempt, as proposed by Sen. Panfilo Lacson, and ordered his detention for three days at Pasay City jail.

All 18 members of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee have signed the resolution citing the businessman in contempt for falsely and evasively testifying during the hearings last Jan. 20 and 26.

Paule’s other lawyer, Paul Palattao, said his client was advised by his doctor to avoid stress as he was found to have a carotid blockage.

Topacio said his client filed a petition with the High Court seeking issuance of a writ of habeas corpus for his release pending a hearing of the case on the ground that his arrest was illegal.

“Petitioner was, thus, never informed of the nature of accusation against him, particularly, the specific false or evasive testimonies.

Hence, petitioner while having filed comments on the motion to cite him in contempt could only argue in general terms. This is tantamount to a deprivation of opportunity to defend himself as there was, in fact no specific charge,” the petitioner said.

Named respondents in the petitioner were Gordon and members of his committee, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, and Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Balajadia.

He said the panel’s purported legislative investigation wandered beyond its constitutional and statutory scope and purpose as well as its procedural limits by proceeding against petitioner under an erroneous concept and grave abuse exercise of its contempt power.

Topacio said Paule believed that the arrest order was issued only because members of the Senate panel did not like his answers and thought he was lying under oath.

His lawyer argued that only a court could order arrest over perjury charges.

“While the petitioner’s statements in the hearings of Jan. 20 and 26 may not have been harmonious with those of his fellow resource persons, as respondents committee members apparently wished them to be, what is clear is that, after the conclusion of the committee hearing on the subject matter, there is no conclusive determination as to who among the resource persons are telling the truth,” Topacio explained in his client’s 38-page petition.

He said it was “encroachment of exclusive constitutional domain of the judiciary” on the part of the Senate committee in ruling on the falsity of his testimony.

He also claimed he never received any subpoena from the Senate committee and was only surprised that on Dec. 17 last year the committee, without his knowledge, cited him and three other persons in contempt for their alleged continuous failure to appear and testify in the committee hearings. This, he argued, was violation of his right to due process. - With Edu Punay