Top Estrada loyalist awaits bail ruling

Ronald Lumbao, a staunch supporter of former President Joseph Estrada, submitted for resolution a petition that he be granted bail because rebellion charges against him have no basis.

Lumbao, through his lawyer J.V. Bautista, has asked Manila Judge Teresa Soriaso of Branch 27 to allow him to post bail while the case is being heard at her sala.

In the petition, Bautista pointed out that Lumbao should be granted bail on the ground that "the case against him is weak because the prosecution has no proof that his client masterminded an attack against the government on May 1, 2001."

Lumbao was charged with rebellion by the Department of Justice (DOJ) following the Labor Day siege at Malacañang, where four persons were killed and scores wounded.

Some 20,000 Estrada supporters, who held a vigil at the EDSA Shrine in Ortigas to denounce the arrest of Estrada joined the rally.

The government claimed the Palace attack was meant to unseat President Arroyo and reinstate Estrada, who was forced to resign during a people uprising.

Bautista said witnesses earlier presented by the DOJ could not directly pinpoint Lumbao as the person who provoked the attack. – Cecille Suerte Felipe