Misuari arraigned Monday

Jailed Muslim renegade leader and former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairman Nur Misuari will be arraigned on charges of rebellion on April 15, at the temporary courthouse built at Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño said Justice Secretary Hernando Perez will attend the arraignment of Misuari and seven of his men which is scheduled at 8:30 a.m. to be presided by Judge Norberto Geraldez of the Calamba City regional trial court.

But Misuari’s lawyer Arthur Lim asked the court to "cancel" the arraignment in view of the fact that the Supreme Court has not ruled with finality its denial on their request for a transfer of venue. The arraignment is still "premature," Lim insisted.

"Because the SC has not denied said motion for reconsideration, much less with finality, there is still a possibility, no matter how slim others may view it, that the SC may reconsider its resolution," Lim wrote in his three-page motion.

The former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao had wanted to have his rebellion case transferred to the Jolo, Sulu regional trial court, citing as reason that non-Muslims in Luzon are biased against him and his seven men. — Delon Porcalla