DOJ refiles rebellion raps vs Estrada supporter

The Department of Justice filed again rebellion charges against a staunch supporter of jailed former President Joseph Estrada after a reinvestigation showed that Ronald Lumbao was responsible for the May 1, 2001 siege of Malacañang Palace.

Saying there was no denial from Lumbao, State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco sent back the non-bailable suit to Manila Judge Teresa Soriano, in whose sala the first case was filed October last year.

"Lumbao admitted that he is not only the PMAP (People’s Movement Against Poverty) spokesman which led and took active part in the May 1 attack. As such, he is deemed the leader of said rebellion," Velasco wrote in his resolution. He said he will move for Lumbao’s arraignment.

Velasco said it is "crystal clear that the conduct of the people who marched towards Malacañang was rebellion, plain and simple. The event was not merely a demonstration. Their main purpose was to attack Malacañang and eventually overthrow the government."

Velasco’s 20-page resolution emphasized that evidence presented by the parties indicated that the detained Lumbao had indeed committed rebellion.

"There clearly exists probable cause that the crime of rebellion had been committed and that Lumbao is indeed probably guilty ... and should be held for trial," the resolution said.

Velasco, the same fiscal who conducted the first probe and indicted Lumbao, said the May 1, 2001 incident could be construed as a "public uprising" because PMAP followers and Estrada loyalists brought deadly weapons with them.

"Along the way, they destroyed barricades and engaged policemen in pitch battles using different kinds of weapons ranging from firearms, lead pipes, wooden clubs, fan knives to stones," he said.

Judge Soriano had granted the request of Lumbao for a reinvestigation of the non-bailable rebellion case because he was not properly notified the first time the investigation was done and that he was not accorded due process.