0706: Swiss parliamentarians question Beltran's imprisonment

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL: http:// www.geocities.com/ap_news


NEWS RELEASE
July 6, 2006
Swiss parliamentarians question Beltran's imprisonment

Swiss parliamentarians have asked the Federal Council to consider diplomatic action towards the Arroyo administration's continuing imprisonment of Anakpawis (Toiling Masses) Representative Crispin Beltran.

Swiss MP Liliane Maury Pasquier, in her June 22, 2006 interpellation ('Serious Attacks on Democracy in the Philippines') has expressed concern over Beltran's plight, stressing that the 73-year old solon's arrest "clearly violates the International Convention on the Civil laws and Political and the Declaration of the Human rights of the United Nations ".

She also requested the Federal Council to take "diplomatic action" on the issue of Beltran's release.

"Doesn't the Federal Council think one diplomatic action, which could take the form of a request for release, is absolutely necessary vis-a-vis this violent infringement of the principles of democratic and human rights?" Maury Pasquer said in the excerpt of the interpellation sent to Cong. Beltran's office (text roughly translated into English from French).

"Doesn't it think that a democratic State like Switzerland would have, of agreement with the other countries and within the international organizations like the very new Council of the human rights, to engage so that the situation of the deputy Crispin Beltran improves as fast as possible and so that Philippines respects the democratic rights of their members of Parliament in particular and of the population in general?" Maury Pasquer continued.

"As a State defender of the human rights and democratic system, Switzerland must really engage these causes. If many members of Parliament of the whole world expressed their concern by letters addressed to the Filipino government, an official reaction of one or several States is necessary to show that this established fact is unacceptable," she concluded.
Maury Pasquier also filed a resolution raising the issue of human rights in the Philippines at the Swiss Parliament signed by 24 other MPs. It is still pending before the Federal Council. Those who signed the resolution are Didier Berberat, Free Cavalli, Andre Daguet, Marlyse Dormond Béguelin , Jacqueline Fehr, Valerie Garbani, Vreni Hubmann, Francine John-Calame, Margret Kiener Nellen, Ueli Leuenberger, Susanne Leutenegger Oberholzer, Anne-Catherine Menétrey-Savary, Roger Nordmann, Fabio Pedrina, Rey Jean-Christmas, Stephan Rossini, Maria Roth-Bernasconi, Pierre Salvi, Geraldine Savary, Carlo Sommaruga, Pierre Vanek, Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold, Hans Widmer, and Ursula Wyss.###

*Cong. Crispin Beltran is confined under police custody at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City. Today is the 131st day of his arbitrary detention by the Arroyo administration.

0704: Detained solon hits rising military-led abductions, cautions Senate vs passing Anti-Terror Bill to delay total breakdown of civil liberties

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL:http://www.geocities.com/ap_news

NEWS RELEASE
July 4, 2006


Detained solon hits rising military-led abductions of civilians under GMA administration,
cautions Senate vs passing Anti-Terror Bill to delay total breakdown of civil liberties


Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran condemned the abduction of seven officers and members of the transport group PISTON-Central Luzon in Pampanga yesterday, saying that the rising military-led abductions of civilians signalled the further breakdown of civil liberties under the Arroyo administration.

The seven PISTON members were abducted at around 11 am to 12 noon yesterday at Brgy. Malabianas, Angeles City, Pampanga, allegedly by elements belonging to the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), and the 56th and 69th IBs of the AFP. Prior to this, UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno and Manuel Merino, researchers for the farmers group Alyansa ng Mamamayan Para sa Pantaong Karapatan (ALMMA-Bulacan), have remained missing since June 25, after being abducted by alleged military troops. Another activist, Leopoldo Ancheta, was recently abducted by armed men aboard a silver Revo van in Guigunto, Bulacan, on the evening of June 24.

"General Jovito Palparan and the PNP should be held accountable for the recent abductions, and should be compelled to surface the victims. These alarming abductions, killings, and other human rights violations against civilians in Central Luzon all coincided with the deployment of more military troops under his command into the region," Beltran said.

"Abductions and enforced disappearances are among the most cruel of human rights violations that can happen to anyone. Yet the government has done nothing to decisively confront the suspected perpetrators from the military and hold them accountable for these abominable and inhumane deeds," Beltran said.

Beltran also slammed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's call to the Senate to pass the pending Anti-Terror Bill, saying that "the 690 extrajudicial killings of civilians and 175 cases of enforced disappearances from 2001 to June 27, 2006, all committed under the overall all context of the government's war against terror, should be reason enough for lawmakers to reject the Anti-Terror Bill".

"The Senate should not allow the bill to pass, for the sake of protecting civil liberties and basic human rights against the draconian assaults of the Arroyo administration. GMA only wants the legislative branch to serve as a rubber stamp for the perverse and bloodthirsty tactics she is employing against the broad number of people who are calling for her to step down from office. It will only complement the repression sowed by extrajudicial killings and abductions," Beltran said.

"The Anti-Terror Bill has not even been passed, but already the Arroyo administration is dangerously branding lawmakers who are supporting the resumption of peace talks such as Sen. Jamby Madrigal as treasonous and deserving of sanctions. Our well-meaning colleagues from the Senate and the Lower House might even become unwitting victims of the Anti-Terror Bill which the Arroyo administration has pressured them into supporting," Beltran cautioned.

"The passage of the Anti-Terror Bill will only bring upon an unprecedented wave of legislated political repression, in addition to the killing spree that GMA's rabid dogs of war are waging in the provinces," Beltran said.###

0703: PNP's money better spent on health services instead of beautification, Ka Bel says

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran

Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006

Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com

URL :http://www.geocities.com/ap_news

NEWS RELEASE

July 3, 2006



PNP's money better spent on health services instead of beautification, Ka Bel says



Anakpawis Party List Representative Crispin Beltran added his voice to the chorus of disapproval of the PNP's beautification program, suggesting that the people's money was better spent on basic health care before beautification programs.



Beltran said he was "aghast upon learning that P1.3 million was spent on sidewalk rehabilitation alone and 16 million would be spent for the construction of the PNP Heritage Park alone, while the medical services and facilities in the PNP's very own General Hospital, located a stone's throw away, continues to deteriorate due to budgetary constraints" .



The 73-year old Beltran, who was diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes, and recovering from a minor stroke in 2005, was arrested and arbitrarily detained in the PNP's Custodial Center by the PNP-CIDG on February 25. After suffering from dangerously high blood pressure levels, he was confined in Room 1 of the PNP General Hospital inside Camp Crame for nearly two months from March 2 to April 26, 2006 .



"I was confined in Room 1, which the PNP ridiculously describes as a 'VIP room', but saw first-hand how lacking the services were even in such a place. Surely the conditions are far worse in the other wards," Beltran said.



"The PNP General Hospital is severely lacking in facilities, infrastructure, and services. Even the police personnel we talked to during our brief stay do not want to be confined there for fear of dying or deteriorating from the substandard medical system," Beltran said.



"The PNP leadership should tone down its delusions of grandeur and first focus on basic social services and needs of the police rank-and-file. This demonstration of misplaced priorities only reflects the government's misprioritization of the national budget, where money for basic social services for the people is being rechanneled away into ' pampapogi' non-essentials," Beltran opined.



"Of what use is a beautiful memorial park for the PNP's dead, when their living are slowly dying due to neglect and an inadequate medical system?," Beltran said.



As his health continued to deteriorate while in the PNP General Hospital, Beltran was finally allowed by the Makati Regional Trial Court to transfer to the Philippine Heart Center for Asia last April 26. ###

0626b: P25 wage hike still falls short of workers

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran

Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006

Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com

URL :http://www.geocities.com/ap_news



NEWS RELEASE

June 26, 2006



P25 wage hike still falls short of workers' needs¡½Beltran

Even first tranch of staggered P125 wage hike larger and wider in scope



Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran today said that "even as the P25 minimum wage increase for NCR-based workers was welcome at this point of the intensifying economic crisis, it would only amount to a drop in the bucket for Filipino workers who have been overburdened by rising prices of basic commodities".



Beltran said that workers have no choice but to accept the increase.



"Binabarat ang mga manggagawa ng regional wage boards. Bagamat hindi pa rin ito nakasasapat ang dagdag na P25.00 upang tugunan ng buo ang kanilang pangangailangan, hindi pa rin ito matatanggihan ng mga manggagawa dahil sa tindi ng krisis sa ekonomiya sa ilalim ng administrasyong Arroyo," Beltran said of the P25 wage hike for Metro Manila based workers.



Beltran, however, noted that the positive effects of the P25 pay hike "would be minimal in view of the escalating costs of basic goods and services" . He cited the weekly oil price hikes and the current poverty and inflation levels as factors which contributed to the lessening of the P25.00 pay hike's value. Beltran added that the pay hike set by the wage boards has yet to reach private-sector workers based outside the NCR, where poverty levels are higher.



"This initial wage hike of P25 should be without prejudice to the efforts to approve the House Bill (HB) 0345, which aims for a P125 legislated across-the-board nationwide wage hike for private-sector workers," Beltran said.



HB 0345 was approved on the second reading by the Lower House but has yet to undergo the third and final reading for its transmission to the Senate. The latest House version of the HB 345 stipulates that the P125 wage hike be given in three installments (of P45.00-P40.00-P40.00) from the years 2006 to 2008



Beltran asserted that a P125 legislated across-the-board nationwide wage hike was still best current poverty-alleviation measure for Filipino workers.



"Even the first tranch or installment of the HB 0345¡½which stipulates that an initial daily wage hike of P45.00 be given in October 2006¡½is still larger and wider in scope than the wage boards' P25.00 pay hike for NCR-based workers. The first installment of the P125 wage hike is still higher by P20.00, " Beltran stressed. ###

0626: Beltran supports impeachment, says raps of authoritarianism will hound GMA even in Europe

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL:http://www.geocities.com/ap_news



NEWS RELEASE
June 26, 2006

As victim of PP 1017 political persecution:
Beltran endorses impeachment raps, says charges of authoritarianism will hound GMA even as she seeks support in Europe

As one of the primary victims of political persecution by the Arroyo administration, detained Anakpawis solon Crispin Beltran will be supporting the Citizens Impeachment Complaint as an endorser while his daughter Ofelia Balleta will be among the official complainants to the new impeachment charge.

Marking into his fourth month of detention by the PNP last June 25, Beltran said that "it was high time for the legitimate impeachment charges to be filed in Congress". Beltran was illegally arrested a day after the President's declaration of PP 1017 on February 24 and has been held by the PNP ever since.

Beltran is among the congressmen who will be affixing their signatures as endorsers of the impeachment complaint. Balleta, meanwhile, signed the document as an official complainant earlier this morning in protest against the Arroyo administration's continuing detention of Rep. Beltran.

"This new impeachment complaint is long overdue. President Gloria Arroyo should be subjected, once and for all, to thorough scrutiny for the acts of dictatorship, crimes against humanity, and graft and corruption she has allegedly committed while in office. I have personally been victimized by the President's political persecution, and have suffered greatly because of the injustices condoned by the Arroyo administration. My illegal arrest and arbitrary detention on trumped-up and ridiculous rebellion charges under her administration have violated with impunity my rights as a citizen and as a parliamentarian," Beltran said from his room at the Philippine Heart Center for Asia.

"GMA should face the impeachment complaint once and for all, point by point. If she really has nothing to hide, she should the impeachment complaint fairly and squarely instead of evading and running away from the issues raised against her. GMA will be adjudged guilty beyond reasonalbe doubt in the discerning eye of the public if she or her allies will again try to kill the impeachment initiative," Beltran said.

"Today's filing of the impeachment complaint will hound GMA even in Spain and Rome . The President and her large entourage of family members, boot-lickers, and syncophants will not escape international inquiry over the unresolved charges of graft and corruption, human rights violations, authoritarianism, and Constitutional violations against the Arroyo administration," Beltran said.


Beltran scores GMA Europe tour

Beltran, meanwhile, scored the President for "trying to deceive the international community and to European public officials by projecting herself as a benevolent and humane President".

"It's hypocritical, shameless, and pretentious of the President to flaunt her administration's abolition of the death penalty when she is also endorsing a bloody counter-insurgency offensive and doing nothing about the extra-judicial killings of activists nationwide," Beltran said.

"With the new impeachment complaint, GMA will be trailed by charges of authoritarianism and dictatorial rule even as she tries to deodorize her image before the European community. Even the stature of the Pope and their pilgrimage to Rome will not be enough to wash away her sins to the Filipino people and her crimes against democracy," Beltran said. ###

Biggest rally ever to greet Beltran's fourth month in detention

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL:http://www.geocities.com/ap_news

NEWS RELEASE
June 23, 2006

Biggest rally ever to greet Beltran's fourth month in detention

The biggest support rally to date in front of the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) will be greeting Anakpawis Congressman Crispin Beltran today as his fourth month of detention under the Arroyo administration nears on June 25.

Government employees, labor unions, health workers, students, professionals, urban poor, migrants, peasants, civil liberarians, church leaders, and human rights workers affiliated with the FREE KA BEL MOVEMENT (FKBM), a nationwide alliance calling for the immediate release of Beltran, will assemble in front of the PHC in Quezon City at around 4:00 this afternoon for a three-hour program in front of the hospital.

The rally by the FKBM is the biggest support action to date in front of the PHC, FKBM Spokesperson Dennis Maga said. Decentralized pickets and solidarity masses were previously held by various organizations ever since Beltran transferred there last April 26.

The 73-year old Beltran spent one week in solitary confinement at the Custodial Center of Camp Crame and two months under heavy security at the PNP General Hospital inside Camp Crame. The deterioration of his health compelled the Makati RTC to allow his transfer to the PHC last April.

"Ka Bel's continuing detention under false, fabricated and malicious charges by the DOJ is only part of the Arroyo administration's political harassment of government critics. This must be condemned and no longer be allowed to continue. We will continue to show our solidarity and unity for Ka Bel's liberty through support actions such as these," Maga said.

Beltran, barred by his police custodians from directly addressing the rallyists, will be watching the rally from the 4th floor of the PHC.

For his fourth month in detention, Beltran expressed optimism that the "people's united efforts for truth, liberty, and justice will prevail over President Arroyo's desperate and draconian maneuvers to stay in power".

"The Arroyo administration is harassing progressive parliamentarians through legalistic means and killing activists and civilians through extra-judicial means. The Palace is also seeking to suppress the truth by killing the new impeachment complaint and trying to terrorize the people by waging an all-out war in the provinces. But these forms of political repression will be overcome by the full force of the people's united struggle," the detained activist lawmaker said.

Beltran, a survivor of detention and torture from 1982 to 1984 under Martial Law, said that "even if the degree of political harassment today is similar to the days of the dictatorship, I am convinced that people power will again prevail to terminate the current regime. Sooner or later, the Arroyo administration will fall under the weight of its own rotteness and vileness". ###

0623: Face impeachment raps once and for all, Beltran dares GMA

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL:http://www.geocities.com/ap_news

NEWS RELEASE
June 23, 2006


Face impeachment raps once and for all, Beltran dares GMA


President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should quit evading the issues raised against her administration and face the new impeachment complaint fairly and squarely, Anakpawis Congressman Crispin Beltran said today.

"If she has really nothing to hide, then she should face the unresolved charges against her eye to eye. If she did not commit electoral fraud, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust, culpable violations of the Constitution and human rights violations, then President Arroyo should prove so once and for all by answering, point by point, to the new impeachment complaint launched yesterday," said the detained lawmaker currently confined at the Philippine Heart Center for Asia.

"I see no reason why the Palace should scamper away from the impeachment. GMA will have nothing to lose if she really is on the side of the truth," Beltran said.

Beltran cautioned Arroyo's allies in Congress "against doing a repeat performance of murdering the impeachment raps'. "Millions of Filipino workers are disappointed because of Congress' inability to approve the third reading of the P125 wage hike bill this month, as per directives of the Palace. They will not be amused if Congress also suppresses their desire to have the truth about the 2004 elections and other issues be resolved through the impeachment complaint," Beltran said.

"Citizens will have more reason to junk the Arroyo administration for good if GMA's allies in Congress kill the impeachment process like they did last year," Beltran warned.

Beltran advised administration solons "to reflect deeply on the moral and political consequences of their puppetry to the Palace this time".

"Konsensiya na nila iyan. They know that we are all beholden to the Filipino people as public servants, and not to the President," Beltran said.

Beltran's illegal arrest and arbitrary detention will be one of the issues raised in the new impeachment complaint against the President. His Acting Chief-of-Staff Ofelia Balleta yesterday joined 300 other individuals at the Club Filipino to sign the complaint on behalf of Beltran.

"Congressman Beltran's rights as an individual and as a parliamentarian have been violated by President Arroyo's political crackdown after PP 1017. The President therefore must be held accountable for these violations against his civil, political, and human rights and parliamentary immunity from arrest," Balleta said. ###

Media Advisory: June 23 multisectoral support rally for Ka Bel

FREE KA BEL MOVEMENT (FKBM)
A network calling for the immediate release of Anakpawis Congressman Crispin Beltran, true leader of the FIlipino people
Address: Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR), Room 702, Culmat Bldg., E. Rodriguez Ave., Quezon City
Tel No. 721-0421

MEDIA ADVISORY
June 22, 2006
Attention: News Desks

As the fourth month of Anakpawis Congressman Crispin Beltran's detention by the Arroyo administration nears, fellow solons and hundreds of congressional staff, workers, peasants, migrants, urban poor, church leaders, students, civil libertarians, and professionals united under the FREE KA BEL MOVEMENT (FKBM) will stage the biggest support rally to date for Ka Bel in front of the Philippine Heart Center.


FREE KA BEL NOW!
STOP POLITICAL PERSECUTION!
June 23, 2006 (Friday), 5:00 – 8:00 PM
Philippine Heart Center for Asia, East Avenue, Quezon City

Assembly: 4 PM at KFC cor. Matalino St.
Program in front of the Philippine Heart Center: 5 PM onwards
Speakers: Batasan Five, FKBM convenors, and more

MEDIA COVERAGE IS REQUESTED.
Photo opportunities available.

For inquiries, please contact FKBM Spokesperson Dennis Maga (0927-399-6227) or the Office of Congressman Beltran through
931-6615 or through Lisa (media officer, 0927-796-7006). Thank you very much.

0622: Channel P1 billion AFP fund to schools, medicines, and peace talks, Ka Bel challenges GMA

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006

NEWS RELEASE
June 22, 2006


Channel P1 billion AFP fund to schools, medicines, and peace talks, Ka Bel challenges GMA
'Socio-economic development' component of AFP's all-out war is only a deodorizer for bloodbath


Anakpawis Congressman Crispin Beltran today challenged the Palace and the AFP "to prove their sincerity in achieving a just and lasting peace by rechannelling the controversial P1 billion counter-insurgency fund to basic social services, such as education and health, and to the peace talks with the CPP-NPA".

"The government should be channeling such funds to augmenting grossly inadequate basic social services, instead of funding murderous counter-insurgency campaigns in the countryside. The Arroyo administration should be castigated by all societal sectors for splurging on the military allotments while chronically neglecting and scrimping on the budget for health and education. This shows that the President is only interested in protecting herself rather than the nation's interest and welfare," Beltran said while confined at the Philippine Heart Center for Asia.

"The people's money would be better spent on laying the groundwork for the resumption of peace talks with the CPP-NPA rather than an all-out counter-insurgency bid. Yet the Arroyo administration seems to favor wielding the bloody sword of war over going back to the negotiating table," Beltran said.

Beltran also criticized AFP Chief Generoso Senga's claim that criticisms of the counter-insurgency fund were "unfair".

"Senga should quit denying the obvious and call a spade a spade. He is evading well-founded and historical observations that the military counter-insurgency fund will only increase the number of civilians killed, tortured, and harassed and the extra-judicial killings of activists who are operating well within the law. He is lamely and illogically trying to justify a bloodbath by saying that the AFP will be having all these small livelihood projects anyway," Beltran said.

"The 'socio-economic development' component of this counter-insurgency campaign is only a deodorizer for the stench of blood and tears that is sure to come if the military war dogs go on such a killing spree in the provinces. These small-scale projects will not fundamentally alter the causes of widespread poverty, and can never compensate for the human rights violations by the military," Beltran said.

Beltran said he was wary of such "socio-economic development projects, especially those bearing the seal of approval from the Palace".


"Frankly speaking, we have witnessed how the Arroyo administration has only used such Palace-approved allotments as a convenient piggybank for Pres. Arroyo's campaigns at shameless self-promotion. The 2007 elections are nearing, and President Arroyo will be needing subtle and not-so-subtle ways to promote herself, her allies and her cohorts in their bid to extend their abominable presence in governance," Beltran said.

"This socio-economic development component of the P1 bilion military allocation might only end up as another Ginintuang Masagana Ani (GMA) fertiizer fund scam or another OWWA Philhealth fund anomaly," Beltran said. ###

0621: War vs NPA a pretext to silence legitimate grievances against GMA

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran

Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006

Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com

URL: http:// www.geocities.com/ap_news



PRESS RELEASE

June 21, 2006



War vs NPA a pretext to silence legitimate grievances against GMA



The Arroyo administration is using the all-out war against the New Peoples' Army as a pretext to silence legitimate grievances against GMA and to justify violence against individuals and organizations who are calling for the President to step down from office , Anakpawis Partylist Congressman Crispin Beltran said today from Room 427 of the Philippine Heart Center (PHC).



"The all-out offensive only shows the Palace's moribund paranoia. GMA knows that nationwide protests will be overflowing like rain as her State of the Nation Address (SONA) nears this July. She knows that a new impeachment complaint in Congress will be yielding a huge storm of support from the people. She knows that hunger and unemployment have wreaked damage throughout the nation, and will eventually prod more of the poor into rejecting her administration," Beltran said.



"The release of P1 billion will also be used in harassing and suppressing progressive party list organizations in the upcoming elections. The Arroyo administration will not only be using the P1 billion as a 'war fund', but also as an "election fund" geared towards the political repression of organizations such as Anakpawis, Bayan Muna, and Gabriela, as well as progressive and even opposition candidates ," Beltran said.



"GMA thinks that launching a highly-publicized offensive at this point will erase the people's lingering anger over unresolved political issues and impeachable offenses under her administration: massive electoral fraud in connivance with key COMELEC and military officials, plunder and large-scale graft and corruption, culpable violations of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, and extra-judicial killings. But this all-out war will only add to her list of injustices against the Filipino people," Beltran said.



"GMA is feeding this bloody offensive to protect herself, not the people. She is supporting this all-out war to protect her own selfish interests, not the welfare of the nation's workers, peasants, migrants, urban poor, and national minorities. The poor majority will have nothing to gain by this bloody rampage of troops in the countryside," said Beltran, who is currently detained under rebellion charges by the government.



"The recall of stand-by troops to fight the NPA only emphasizes how desperate and paranoid the Arroyo administration is. It seems that GMA and her cohorts in the military are hell-bent on turning Central Luzon, Bicol, and the Southern Tagalog into a 'howling wilderness' just to ensure that they stay in power," Beltran said. ###

0706b: Second judge in Beltran's case inhibits, but consolidates old and new rebellion raps

From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran
Lisa C. Ito, Public Information Officer (+63)927.796.7006
Tel. # (+632) 931-6615 Email: crispinbeltran@gmail.com
URL: http:// www.geocities.com/ap_news
NEWS RELEASE
July 6, 2006
Second judge in Beltran's case inhibits, But consolidates old and new rebellion raps

The new judge handling Anakpawis Congressman Crispin Beltran's case has inhibited herself from further proceeding, but not before affirming the consolidation of old and new charges filed against Beltran and and 47 other individuals, including Beltran's five other colleagues from Congress.

In her order dated July 3, 2006, Judge Encarnacion Jaja Moya forwarded to the Makati Regional Trial Court (MRTC) Branch 146 the rebellion case ordered consolidated by MRTC Branch No. 57 Judge Renato Quilala with the rebellionc case against Beltran and Lt. San Juan pending before Moya.

"The consolidation of these cases is on account of the fact that the accused in Criminal Case No. 06-944 before the RTC Branch 157 were alleged in the information to be conspiring, confederating, and mutually helping each other together with the accused in this case before this Court, who are likewise accused of rebellion. Thus, based on the ground that there are common evidence to be presented which will entail a joint hearing necessitating a joint decision," Moya wrote.

Moya however inhibited herself from sitting in the consolidated cases as she is a "personal friend and close associate" of Atty. Christopher Belmonte, one of the accused in the consolidated case.

Beltran's lawyers led by Atty. Romeo Capulong will be filing a Motion for Reconsideration to Moya's consolidation, saying that Moya's move violates Beltran's right to due process. The new information consolidated with Beltran's case is based on the amended information that was previously rejected by Judge Jenny Lind Aldecoa Delorino, Beltran's lawyers noted.

The new information (CC- No. 06-944) was previously heard by Judge Renato Quilala of the MRTC Branch 57, w hile the old information (CC. No. 06-452) was handled by Judge Moya. The DOJ previously asked the courts to consolidate the separate rebellion charges filed.

Meanwhile, the Free Ka Bel Movement (FKBM), an alliance calling for Beltran's immediate release, denounced Moya's "unjust decision to consolidate the case". "Moya's decision is a disappointment. This maneuver will invariably and unjustly delay the legal battle for Ka Bel's liberty," Dennis Maga spokesperson of the FKBM said. "There's obvious pressure on all the judges handling the rebellion cases to kowtow to the DOJ's impositions," he commented.

The case will be reraffled today 2 PM at the courtroom of Executive Judge Napoleon E. Inoturan of the MRTC Branch 133. ###


Cong. Crispin Beltran is confined under police custody at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City. Today is the 131st day of his arbitrary detention by the Arroyo administration.