Sandiganbayan orders arrest of lawmaker, Namria officials

The Sandiganbayan ordered the immediate arrest of Sorsogon Rep. Jose Solis as well as with four of his former colleagues at the National Mapping and Resource Information Administration (Namria) and a private individual, over the sale of inalienable land at Fort Magsaysay in Laur, Nueva Ecija.

The anti-graft court also ordered the Bureau of Immigration to put Solis and Namria officials Salvador Bonnevie, Virgilio Fabian Jr., Ireneo Valencia and Arthur Viernes and private individual Florencia Garcia-Diaz, in its hold-departure list.

Not included in the arrest warrant and travel ban issued by the Sandiganbayan’s third division, headed by Justice Godofredo Legaspi, is former Solicitor General Ricardo Galvez who has posted P30,000 bail.

Prosecutors held the officials liable for the sale in May 1999 of 4,689 hectares of inalienable land at Fort Magsaysay, a military reservation.

Solis, who is seeking re-election, was the chief of Namria during the administration of former President Joseph Estrada.

Special prosecutor Humphrey Monteroso said Solis, along with the other Namria officials, allegedly conspired with Garcia-Diaz in the illegal deal.

Galvez, then the solicitor general, "withdrew’ the government’s opposition to the registration of part of the inalienable land under Garcia-Diaz’s name.