Crispin Beltran said that he is very much prepared to once more face
his accusers in court tomorrow, March 25 as the arraignment for the
sedition case against him is heard at the Metropolitan Trial Court
of Metro Manila Branch 43 in Quezon City at 1:30 pm. He is still
demanding the court dismiss all charges against him and immediately
have him released in the interest of justice and truth.
"It has been months since the court heard my case, and it's a grievous
violation against my rights. As an elected lawmaker, I have the right
to immunity, but the courts have chosen to ignore this fact. The
leadership of the House of Representatives led by Speaker Jose de
Venecia have also done nothing to vouch for me and my rights. Despite
all this, however, I remain in fighting form and I'm ready to prove
that all the charges and testimonies made against me by the various
'pakawala' of the Macapagal-Arroyo government are out and out lies,"
he said.
Beltran, 74, has been fasting since Wednesday in protest of his
continuing detention and the attacks against fellow progressive
lawmakers, mainly Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo. He also began his fast
in solidarity with and in gratitude to other political detainees all
over the country protesting against his and Ocampo's incarceration.
"It's yet another testament to how twisted the judicial system in the
country is, the way the courts are still slow to discern genuine and
legitimate cases from purely politically-motivated ones, cases that in
truth should be considered 'nuisance cases' and a waste of public
funds. The charges of sedition and rebellion against me are all
baseless, and the results of a malicious and vicious plot to weaken
the progressive bloc of party-lists and their effective campaign of
being the voice of the Filipino people in the congress. Malacanang and
the Department of Justice led by Sec. Raul Gonzalez and well as
national security adviser Norberto Gonzales continue to pursue these
charges against me not because I am guilty of them, but because they
are pikon. They are retaliating in this underhanded way for all the
just and legitimate criticism we have made against them and their
policies that attack the Filipino people's economic, political and
human rights."
The court has denied Beltran 's motion to quash the government's move
to proceed with Criminal Case No. 132943 or the case charging him with
sedition. The court has ordered a full-blown trial. The decision was
laid down by Acting Presiding Judge Thelma de los Santos.
The court is ordering that the sedition case against Beltran be
deliberated in a full-blown hearing, denying the motion of Beltran's
lawyers that the case be immediately dismissed on the grounds that
Beltran's arrest on February 25, 2006 was illegal and that the
arresting officers did not have a warrant for his arrest much less
clear-cut charges to back it up. The court also denied the assertion
of Beltran's lawyers that the court erred in holding that the crime of
inciting to sedition can be absorbed in the crime of rebellion despite
the clear ruling in People vs. Hernandez and People vs. Geronimo.
The court found the arguments of the lawyers against the coupling of
the crime of inciting to sedition with the crime of rebellion. The
court said that the crime consist of two separate acts each of which
have their own criminal intents and hence should be tried separately.
Beltran's lawyers led by the Public Interest Law Center's President
Atty. Romeo Capulong, Atty. Amylyn Sato and Atty. Rachel Pastores
intend to file a motion for certiorari on the sedition case. They
insist that sedition and rebellion charges should be heard as one and
the same. They have been petitioning the court that the more serious
case of rebellion should be heard while the sedition charges should be
dropped. #
THE MEDIA IS REQUESTED TO COVER REP. BELTRAN'S ARRAIGMENT ON MONDAY,
MARCH 26, 2007 AT THE QC RTC NEAR THE QUEZON CITY HALL AT 1:30 PM.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
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