Lozada case may lead to arrest order vs First Couple!

[Zeus]

Judge to Defensor: Lozada case may lead to arrest order vs First Couple

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 05/05/2009 8:43 AM

The judge handling the perjury case against NBN-ZTE star witness Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada has advised the complainant, former presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor, to settle the case amicably.

"Defensor has admitted on TV that this perjury case he is pursuing against Lozada is very bad for his political career. I fully agree with him," Jorge Emmanuel Lorredo, presiding judge of the Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 26 of Manila, said in a five-page order issued on Monday. "Furthermore, I say that it may be very bad for his health and his family as well. If he gets sick like Mike Arroyo, would not that be bad for him and his family?"

Lorredo's five-page order was supposed to be about the schedule of Lozada's arraignment on May 7. The judge, however, narrated in the order how Defensor may suffer the same fate of Mrs. Arroyo's husband, whose health deteriorated at the time he filed more than a dozen cases against people who accused him of corruption.

"There are those who say that the serious heart disease is some kind of punishment for Atty. Mike Arroyo. I do not know if this is true, for I do not really know how our Lord works, for He does work in mysterious ways," he said.

He also mentioned in the order that of all the president's he know, only Mrs. Arroyo's spouse became sickly. "He has a serious heart disease. He even tries to make us believe that he is [in] no condition to attend Senate probes."

The judge, who originally dismissed the perjury case but was forced to issue an arrest order against Lozada after a Manila trial court reversed his ruling, said he included "my words designed to penetrate Defensor's mind and heart" in the order so that the former chief presidential aide "would be able to think clearly so that on May 7, 2009, there could already be peace between him and Lozada."

He also told Defensor that Lozada being protected by the Church "must mean something." "Defensor, take note: that must mean something," he said, adding that Mrs. Arroyo's former chief of staff should look the nuns and priests protecting Lozada at their faces during the arraignment.

Arrest warrant vs First Couple?

Lorredo assured Defensor that he will "fairly" handle the case assuring the former presidential chief of staff that he will allow the prosecution team to present all evidence that will prove Lozada committed perjury when he made conflicting statements before the Court of Appeals and the Senate in relation to the allegedly bribery-ridden $328-million broadband deal between the government and Chinese firm ZTE Corp.

He said he will also allow Lozada's camp to destroy all the arguments presented by Defensor's camp.

The judge also warned Defensor that the simple perjury case he filed against Lozada is "very explosive potential" with the possible inclusion of Mrs. Arroyo and her husband in the trial.

Lorredo also assured defensor that if Mrs. Arroyo and her husband were asked to stand as witness to the trial, he will not hesitate to issue subpoena to the First Couple.

"If Gloria and Mike refuse to obey the subpoena, I will not hesitate to issue the warrants of arrest against them because it is the constitutional right of Lozada to have the best possible defense. And it is my duty to see to it that there is due process in my court," the judge said.

He said if the police would refuse to serve the warrants of arrest to the First Couple, he can deputize other public officers, possibly Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and other opposition senators, to serve the warrants of arrest.

"Some of these people are lawyers, some of them have had extensive police experience, like Mayor Fred Lim and Senate Ping Lacson. They can arrest, handcuff and put behind bars any fugitive," the judge warned.

He also mentioned a worst case scenario: The senators clashing with the Presidential Security Group and jailed Sen. Antonio Trillanes "and his comrades" joining the arrest mission against the President and the First Gentleman.

"Get the picture, Mr. Railroadman Defensor?" Lorredo asked. "Defensor, just imagine how powerful a message that would for our people and for the whole world. And just imagine how that would affect the first couple."
as of 05/05/2009 9:04 AM

Mangyayari kaya ito?

[ghosthunter]

I doubt if that "arrest order" will actually happen.

[oliver1013]

I like this judge's guts...

[jeDi13]

I doubt if that "arrest order" will actually happen.

+1. ang lakas ng kapit ng arroyo's sa AFP and PNP. bigyan ba naman ng position sa cabinet niya yung Retired Generals

[chua_riwap]

Judge Lorredo, sana nga eh huwag mong kainin lahat ng sinasabi mo.

[valvura]

Since the senators are involved in the "worst case scenario" here's a related sequel of the thread article:

10 senators sign resolution seeking Senate custody of Lozada
AMITA LEGASPI, GMANews.TV
05/05/2009 | 01:09 PM
MANILA, Philippines - At least 10 senators have signed a yet-to-be filed resolution for the Senate to seek custody of NBN- ZTE scandal star witness Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr.

In an interview with reporters, Senator Francis Escudero said the resolution, once filed and adopted, will make the motion filed by the senators before Manila court an official act of the Senate as an institution.

“Iba yung weight ng resolution na Senado ang humihingi ng custody bilang testigo kumpara dun sa individual na senador na hinihiling yun. Mas-malalim, mas-mabigat ang Senado dahil institution [The resolution filed by the Senate as an institution has a greater weight than just a mere petition filed by the senators]," Escudero said.

He said Senator Manuel Roxas II authored the resolution “for the Senate, through its lawyers, to ask for the custody of Lozada on recognizance while the case is ongoing."

He said the Senate does not encroach into the authority of the court over Lozada with the filing of the resolution.

“Dumadaan ang Senado sa proseso ng husgado kaya nga sa pamamagitan ng motion o petition hinihiling ng Senado ang custody, patunay ito na ginagalang ng Senado ang jurisdiction ng court sa kanya [The Senate goes through the process of the court through a motion or petition. This is the proof that the Senate respects the jurisdiction of the court over Lozada]," Escudero said.

A part of the resolution read: “Considering the invaluable contribution of Jun Lozada in the name of truth and justice when he courageously offered himself as a witness at the Senate hearings to blow the whistle and reveal his knowledge on the highly irregular and anomalous $329 million NBN-ZTE contract, it is only proper that Jun Lozada be released from MPD (Manila Police District) custody on recognizance of the Senate."

On Monday, Roxas, on behalf of the Senate, filed before a Manila court a motion seeking the release of Lozada on Senate recognizance.

The motion was signed by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, and Senators Roxas, Escudero, Maria Ana Consuelo Madrigal, Panfilo Lacson, Gregorio Honasan II, Benigno Aquino III, Rodolfo Biazon and Loren Legarda.

In seeking for Lozada’s release on recognizance, the senators cited Section 15, Rule 114 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure which allows the release of a person in custody on “recognizance of a person," which they claim in this case would refer to them.

Lozada was arrested on April 29 based on the perjury complaint filed by former presidential chief of staff Mike Defensor. - GMANews.TV

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/159916/1...tody-of-Lozada

[renzo_d10]

I doubt if that "arrest order" will actually happen.

Me too. I doubt it.

[Zeus]

Di kaya pag ayaw nila pa arresto ibig sabihin hindi na sila sumusunod sa rule of law, baka may babaligtad na ang ibang mga sundalo at baka mangyayari ang worst case scenario sinasabi ni Judge...

He also mentioned a worst case scenario: The senators clashing with the Presidential Security Group and jailed Sen. Antonio Trillanes "and his comrades" joining the arrest mission against the President and the First Gentleman.

[mey0r]

Sa haba ng galamay ng mga arroyo. Conjugal dictatorship!

[awing]

Sa haba ng galamay ng mga arroyo. Conjugal dictatorship!

Exactly, kung kailangan talaga sila ikulong nuon pa sana with all their cases..