Salapuddin: "There is no warrant for my arrest"

Former House deputy speaker for Mindanao Gerry Salapuddin has declared that no arrest warrant had been issued against him and described the news about the order of a court to apprehend him as "part of demolition job of his political rivals."

Some national mediamen on Wednesday reported that a Quezon City judge ordered Salapuddin's arrest and three other people for the bombing at the Batasan Pambansa on November 13, 2007 that killed five people, including Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar.

The report said that Judge Ralph Lee of the Regional Trial Court Branch 83 ordered Salapuddin, Hajarun Jamiri, Benjamin Hataman, and PO1 Bayan Judda arrested after they failed to attend Wednesday's arraignment on the case.

Prosecutors had added the four as suspects to the charge sheet, but they ignored the summonses sent to them, according to the media report.

"The news about the alleged release of MTC Branch 83 warrant for my arrest is not true…there is no warrant for my arrest…the truth of the matter, Judge Lee hasn't issued any order to that effect," Salapuddin said in a statement."

The former Basilan congressman deplored the information spread by certain "irresponsible" mediamen without validating the facts of the case and called on them to practice responsible journalism, saying never to allow themselves to be instrument of disinformation.

"While they have press freedom as their shield coupled with the right of the public to know, however, they must not forget that it is not a right to wrong others. They must not use the bar of public opinion to persecute anyone."

"I call for balance and fair reporting. I firmly believe, the reason why my political opponents are moving heaven and earth to pin me down has something to do with my election protest at the Comelec."

On Monday, Salapuddin counsels filed an Omnibus Motion before the Sala of Judge Lee to counter the filing of the alleged defective information by the Prosecution Panel of the Department of Justice (DOJ) last Thursday, February 28.

The motion sought for the judicial determination of the probable cause of the case. It asks as well for the dismissal of the case because the information filed before the court is defective and has many loopholes.

It also beseeched the court not to issue any warrant of arrest against Salapuddin and three others co-suspects PO1 Judda, former Tuburan Mayor Jamiri and Ben Hataman pending the judicial determination of the probable cause of the case.

The DOJ as part of the executive branch of government has executive power to determine the probable cause of any case submitted to it. But the court has also it judicial power to determine the probable cause of the case.

According to Salapuddin, surprisingly, the two brothers Anak Mindanao Party List Rep. Mujiv Hataman and Hadjiman Salliman were exonerated by the Prosecution Panel of the DOJ at the last minute presumably due to political pressure.

Also last Wednesday, Akbar counsels filed a motion before the sala of Judge Lee for the issuance of arrest warrant against four main accused in the Batasan Pambansa blast. They also questioned the hasty exoneration of the Hataman Brothers.

"This is the issue being blown out of proportion by the media. They thought that the mere filing is automatically the decision of the court. In fact, the honorable court was displeased because they must have felt that they were being preempted," Salapuddin explained.

"However, Judge Lee has ruled to hear the matter concerning the motions of all sides concerned on March 14, 2008. That's why, there is no warrant of arrest to speak about," he stressed.

It was learned that Salapuddin counsels would be filing before the justice secretary a petition for review of the case. This is why, he said the court set the hearing on March 14 to allow the justice secretary to rule on it, wherein whatever its ruling would affect the court's decision.

Salapuddin lost to Jum Akbar, the wife of the late Rep. Akbar, by a slim margin of more than 3,000 votes in 11 barangays in the last elections but he protested. He believes that he won that election and was allegedly cheated of his victory.

Hopefully, the former Basilan lawmaker said that as soon as his lead counsel in the protest against Akbar, Attorney George Erwin Garcia will be over with the ongoing recount of Batangas vice gubernatorial contest, his protest can start rolling.

"I am protesting because I want to restore the sovereign rights of our people to freely choose their leaders. I also want to bring back decency and good governance to the people of Basilan because they deserve no less," he concluded.