Malacañang yesterday urged Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez to refrain from issuing statements that tend to discourage potential whistleblowers from testifying before investigations by government and Congress into the illegal numbers game "jueteng."
This developed as Senate President Franklin Drilon assured witnesses appearing before the Senate inquiry into "jueteng" that they could not be charged with libel because their testimonies are considered privileged information.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, meanwhile, said yesterday he never threatened or intimidated prospective witnesses in the Senate hearing, adding that his statements have been "misconstrued."
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said he would take up the matter with Gonzalez to erase any perception that government was going after whistleblowers and witnesses at the gambling hearings.
"In all seriousness, I will really tell Secretary Gonzalez that this issue has come up so that he will be conscious on how to handle whistleblowers on jueteng so that his actions will not be misunderstood (as) trying to muzzle them," he said in his weekly press conference.
"We want to remove the bias. The impression seems to be that just because he is in the Cabinet he seems to receive instructions to squeeze something from these people and prevent them from revealing (what they know)," he added.
Gonzalez reportedly threatened to charge confessed jueteng operator Wilfredo Mayor with perjury and libel if he failed to substantiate allegations that certain government officials received money from jueteng lords. Mayor had alleged at a Senate hearing that President Arroyo’s son, Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo, and three other congressmen, received protection payoffs from him.
Senate President Franklin M. Drilon and Sen. Manuel Villar, who heads one of Senate committees inquiring into jueteng, said Gonzalez’s statements tended to intimidate and discourage prospective witnesses from appearing before the hearing.
Ermita said Gonzalez could not charge with perjury or libel witnesses appearing before congressional investigations.
"They are protected by the rules of both houses of Congress whenever they testify as resource persons in such hearings. When they were invited, they know that their actuations to what they have to say will be subject to public scrutiny," he said.
"Whether they could be held to court for perjury, I don’t think that would happen," he added.
Still, Ermita said he would defer to Gonzalez on how to handle whistleblowers and witnesses. "We go by what he says," he said. "Secretary Gonzalez is part of the team of President Arroyo. He is, as a matter of fact, a senior member of the Cabinet. He is supposed to be the one to know the law, he is the one to advise the President and other Cabinet about legal matters."
Drilon assures witnesses that they could not be charged with libel
By MARIO B. CASAYURAN
Senate President Franklin M. Drilon yesterday assured witnesses appearing before the Senate inquiry into "jueteng" that they would not face libel charges because their testimony is considered privileged information.
Drilon gave the assurance following the reported filing of a libel suit before the Department of Justice against the Wilfredo Mayor who had linked two current congressmen and two former congressmen and Philippine National Police (PNP) Director-General Arturo Lomibao to jueteng during Monday’s Senate hearing.
Armando Naguit, alias "Catoy," has filed a libel suit against Mayor for alleging during the hearing that Naguit was a bagman of Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo and that he (Mayor) gave a P600,000 monthly "jueteng" protection money to the presidential son through Naguit.
The Senate chief also took to task Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez for contradicting the assurance by senators before the start of the simultaneous Senate committee hearing last Monday that Mayor would be free from prosecution as long as he was a witness in the Senate hearing.
He said Gonzalez should inhibit himself from the current DoJ probe into the jueteng issue because "he has already said that these people are guilty and can be charged with libel and violation of the anti-jueteng laws (and that) he has pre-judged the case."
Drilon conceded that the filing of the libel suit and Gonzalez’ alleged bias in favor of the Arroyo administration have a "chilling effect" on future witnesses.
"But I would encourage the witnesses not to be intimidated. As long as you are telling the truth, God will be on your side," Drilon said.
"We are of the view as senators and me as lawyer and former Secretary of Justice (during the Aquino administration) that no libel was committed," Drilon said of the libel suit filed against Mayor.
Drilon said the testimony given during a legislative committee hearing is "privileged information."
"Truth is a defense in libel. When you testify before the Senate committee and you are under oath. If you testify falsely you are liable for perjury because you testified falsely. That is the law," he added.
The simultaneous Senate inquiry is being conducted by Sen. Manuel Villar, chairman of the Senate public order and illegal drugs committee, and Sen. Manuel "Lito" Lapid, chairman of the Senate games, sports and amusement committee.
Gonzalez denies intimidating Senate hearing witnesses
By CHARISSA M. LUCI
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez yesterday denied threatening or intimidating prospective witnesses on "jueteng," saying that his statements were "misconstrued."
He also expressed regret that his statements offended the Senate, particularly Senate President Franklin Drilon who had cautioned Gonzalez against threatening to file charges against witnesses at "jueteng" hearings.
"I never gave a threat but a statement of fact based on my knowledge and interpretation of the law," he said.
"I hope that you can concede good faith to me because I will do my duty as God gave me the light to do my duty. If my statements offended the members of the Senate committee, I deeply regret that," he said.
Gonzalez noted that his statements did not prevent Wilfredo Mayor from appearing before the Senate hearing and linking legislators, top government officials and high ranking to "jueteng."
In a letter to Drilon, Gonzalez blamed the media for "misconstruing" his statements about the liabilities of witnesses as "threatening" them.
"I was asked by members of media what the liabilities of witnesses are who are themselves involved in jueteng, and if found that they are telling the truth. I told them that my interpretation of the laws applicable here can make them liable either as principals, accomplices, or accessories, also for perjury or libel, as the case may be," he said.
Gonzalez, during his dialogue with Sen. Panfilo Lacson over the Dong Puno’s "Viewpoint" program, explained that immunity is "not absolute," because Sections 8 and 10 of RA 9287 require that the provision should be taken together with the Rules of Court and Presidential Decree 1732.
PD 1732 states that no witnesses can be immune from suits, including perjury and libel.
"In the Rules of Court, we are not talking of immunity but discharge of the accused as state witness under Rule 119, and there are five qualifications to be a state witness as provided for by Section 17 of Rule 119," he said.
The five qualifications are: absolute necessity for the testimony of the accused who turns state witness; no other direct evidence is available for the proper prosecution of the offense committed except the testimony of state witness; the testimony can be substantially corroborated; the state witness does not appear to be the most guilty; and the state witness has not been convicted of any offense involving moral turpitude.
He said he respected the position of the Senate in granting immunity, but he disagreed with the idea of giving security blanket to witnesses before they testify.
"Otherwise, it will be like granting amnesty to the accused which cannot be done without the concurrence of the President and Congress," he said.
"Furthermore, I respectfully submit that whatever immunity may be extended, that immunity cannot be more than the immunity that members of Congress (Senate and House of Representatives) enjoy under the Constitution," he added.
The immunity under section 11 of Article 6 of the Constitution covers only offenses punishable by not more than six years imprisonment, and immunity from the arrest while Congress is in session, he explained.
He said the penalty for maintainers, managers or operators, as Mayor confessed to be, is at least 12 years and one day to 14 years; and if he is a financier or capitalist, 14 years and one day to 16 years.
"Granting his immunity for such acts would be placing him in a better position than senators or congressmen," he stressed.
He urged Drilon, media and non-government organizations to send a lawyer to observe the proceedings before the department’s anti-gambling body.
To ensure an "honest-to-goodness" inquiry, the justice secretary said, he placed three DoJ undersecretaries and Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño, a career official in the prosecution service, to conduct the investigation.
The DOJ special anti-gambling panel is composed of Undersecretaries Ramon Liwag, Ernesto Pineda, Macabangkit Lanto and Zuño. Gonzalez heads the body while Liwag sits in as member for Luzon; Pineda for Visayas; and Lanto for Mindanao.
Erap advises GMA to ‘start looking in her own backyard’
Former President Joseph Estrada said yesterday that President Arroyo should start looking in her own backyard instead of constantly blaming the opposition for her problems.
"Mrs. Arroyo keeps blaming the opposition for every scandal that comes her way. She should start looking at her own backyard to see where these scandals come from – and not at the opposition," Estrada said.
He reminded the President that the jueteng expose came from Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, who is not a member of the opposition.
Estrada also deplored the threats issued by Mrs. Arroyo and her justice secretary against the jueteng whistleblower in an effort to prevent them from testifying before the Senate panel probing the illegal numbers game.
"That is an abuse and misuse of government resources – no different from the government funds and resources that have been used by this administration to perpetuate election fraud for her to stay in power," Estrada said.
Reiterating that the opposition is not involved in the current jueteng expose, Estrada, the acknowledged leader of the political opposition, stressed that the opposition is concentrating on the election fraud that was committed against the Filipino people.
The opposition leader said Mrs. Arroyo should not fear the truth.
"If her husband and son are innocent of the charges, as she claims, Mrs. Arroyo should not be afraid of the truth that may emerge through the testimonies of these witnesses," he said.
The detained leader pointed out that when he was being pilloried by the media on the same scandal and the jueteng issue was being investigated by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, he never once prevented anyone from testifying before the Senate, and even before the impeachment court.
"I knew they were all lies, but I never stopped anyone from testifying against me, nor was anyone threatened by my office. I never asked the Senate to stonewall any investigation on my scandal that was being hatched by the elite," he said.
"Neither my Press Secretary nor my Justice Secretary issued threats of filing suits against anyone who testified against me, as President of the Republic. The Office of the President was never utilized to intimidate and cow the claimed whistleblowers into submission, to stop them from testifying, because this is an abuse of government power and I knew the truth would eventually come to fore."
