Lumbao goes to MCJ

A Manila judge ordered yesterday the transfer of detention of a staunch supporter of former President Joseph Estrada from Camp Crame in Quezon City to the Manila City Jail (MCJ).

Judge Teresa Soriaso of Regional Trial Court Branch 27 directed the Philippine National Police-Intelligence Group to transfer Ronald Lumbao to MCJ-Rehabilitation Center in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

Lumbao faces rebellion charges which stemmed from the bloody attack on Malacañang on May 1, 2001, in which four persons were killed. Hundreds of People’s Movement Against Poverty (PMAP) members provoked some 20,000 supporters of ousted President Estrada to attack the Palace to remove President Arroyo and reinstate Estrada.

Lumbao was first detained in Camp Crame shortly after his arrest on April 25, following apprehension that PMAP supporters would troop to his detention to free him.

In a two-page order dated July 23, Soriaso granted the PNP’s request to transfer Lumbao since "the threats on the national security and personal safety of Lumbao have subsided."

The PNP also noted the transfer of Lumbao would be more advantageous to the PNP, Lumbao and the court.

Soriaso also ruled that the PNP is not mandated by law to detain persons with pending cases before the courts. "An accused must be detained in jail under the management of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Soriaso noted. – Cecille Suerte Felipe