Ombudsman wants Bong, Janet moved to Bicutan

MANILA, Philippines - Government prosecutors asked the Sandiganbayan yesterday to order the transfer of Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., his former chief of staff Richard Cambe and Janet Lim-Napoles to a detention facility of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig.

Their detention at Camp Crame and Fort Sto. Domingo is without legal basis as these are not jail facilities for people undergoing trial, the prosecutors argued.

Acting director Joefferson Toribio heads the prosecution panel of the Office of the Ombudsman.

In a motion scheduled to be heard on Thursday, prosecutors said under the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, arrested individuals must be committed to the nearest police station or BJMP-operated detention facility or jail.

“Aside from its lack of basis, the continued detention of accused at their present locations affords them special treatment as they are subjected to different rules and procedure not afforded to other detention prisoners under BJMP control,” the prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said the special treatment given to Sen. Jinggoy Estrada for him and his wife’s wedding anniversary recently, allowing visitors beyond visiting hours, must be considered.

“Accused special treatment creates a negative image of the country’s court and justice system. It casts doubt on the government’s capacity to afford equal protection of the law to all citizens,” prosecutors said.

Revilla, Cambe and Napoles must not be granted privileges different from other persons undergoing trial for criminal offenses, prosecutors said.

Jessica “Gigi” Reyes was ordered detained at the BJMP female dormitory in Camp Bagong Diwa as required by law after her request to be detained in Camp Crame was denied, Toribio said.

‘Enrile must be confined in hospital’

Doctors from the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) have recommended that Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile be confined in a hospital while undergoing trial.

Jose Gonzales told the Sandiganbayan Third Division yesterday that further examination must be done on Enrile pending the anti-graft court’s decision on his motion for hospital arrest.

Gonzales said based on the recommendations of a PGH medical team who examined and reviewed Enrile’s previous hospital records, the 90-year-old suffers from uncontrolled hypertension, diabetes and irregular heartbeat.

All the recommended medical procedures to get the state of condition of Enrile must be “performed in a hospital setting,” he added.

Gonzales told Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang and other Sandiganbayan justices that Enrile is taking 22 different medications daily to keep his ailments in check.

Enrile is presently confined at the Philippine National Police General Hospital (PNPGH).

During the hearing, Enrile’s lawyer, former justice secretary Estelito Mendoza, asked Gonzales whether his client could be a flight risk if confined in hospital or placed under house arrest.

Gonzales replied: “He has a problem with ambulation. He needs assistance in every move. I don’t think he is a candidate for walkathon or any running contest.” A police force is on standby to protect Enrile, Estrada and Revilla whenever they go out of Camp Crame.

Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac, PNP public information director, said local police forces will back the standby force in securing the route and destination of the three detained senators, but that regular anti-crime operations will not be affected.

Sindac said the standby force is under supervision of the Headquarters Support Service Support (HSS).

“There is a ready unit coming from the HSS to address the need during emergency cases, especially when it comes to Sen. Enrile,” he said.

Bishops visit Napoles

Some Catholic bishops visited Napoles in her detention in Fort Sto. Domingo, Sta. Rosa, Laguna yesterday.

In a tweet, dzBB radio reported that the Catholic bishops visited Napoles from 9 a.m. until noon. Archbishop of Lipa, Batangas Ramon Arguelles said Napoles sees an effort to “eliminate her.” Archbishop of Zamboanga Romulo de la Cruz said Napoles did not ask that she be placed under the custody of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Napoles was just a victim of circumstance, he added. Batanes Bishop Camilo Gregorio said Napoles cried when they finally ended their visit, and he felt that she wanted to tell them more.

Tweets posted on GMA News quoted Arguelles as saying that Napoles told him that an investigation into the activities of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad would show that the amount he received from the General Appropriations Act would be enough to fund the construction of a bridge from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi.

The visit came after Napoles wrote De la Cruz asking for his support and prayers.

‘Strengthen prosecution panel’

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales was urged yesterday to strengthen the panel of prosecutors handling the pork barrel scam cases before the Sandiganbayan. Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and other lawmakers made the appeal following a series of blunders committed by prosecutors of the Office of the Ombudsman in the early stages of the trial.

“If I were Ombudsman Morales, I will try to get the best lawyers I can,” Belmonte, who is a lawyer, said.

Representatives Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Dasmariñas City in Cavite and Giorgidi Aggabao of Isabela, who are also lawyers, agreed with Belmonte.

Barzaga said Morales could tap prosecutors from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and even private practitioners.

“She has that authority under the Ombudsman Act,” he said. “She has to strengthen her prosecution panel before it commits major blunders.”

Aggabao said the prosecution panel is now perceived as weak because of its mistakes.

“That is the conclusion that is difficult to avoid,” he said. “Against the seasoned and crafty defense lawyers, indeed, the prosecution team has already made several critical missteps.”

Aggabao said Morales should consider drafting DOJ and private lawyers into the prosecution panel of the anti-graft agency.

The first mistake prosecutors committed was their proposed amendment of the plunder complaint against Sen. Estrada. Prosecutors backtracked and withdrew their amendment when justices reminded them that they ordered Estrada arrested on the basis of such complaint and an amended filing would mean the senator would have to be freed.

Realizing the implication of their move, they also withdrew the planned change in the complaints against Revilla and Enrile. During the hearing on the graft case against Budget Undersecretary Mario Relampagos, prosecutors were lectured on the difference between a special allotment release order and a sub-allotment release order. The proposed changes in the complaints against Estrada, Revilla and Enrile would have made the senators as the central figures in the alleged crime of plunder, instead of Napoles, the suspected mastermind of the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam.

Prosecutors offered the amendments after Napoles’ lawyer claimed his client could not be charged with plunder, because under the law, the offender must be a public officer, not a private citizen. – Michael Punongbayan, Evelyn Macairan, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Jess Diaz, Artemio Dumlao