Erap 5 join impeachment complaint against GMA

Four of the so-called "Erap 5" led some 30 other members of the Union of the Masses for Democracy and Justice (UMDJ) yesterday in joining the opposition’s bid to impeach President Arroyo.

UMDJ chairman Virgilio Eustaquio said they understand the plight of PO3 Jose Justo Curameng, an active member of the Philippine National Police, on his refusal to affix his signature on the new impeachment complaint, which will form part of the opposition’s fifth complaint to be filed on July 24.

"But deep in his heart, we know that we all have the same sentiments. Of course, he has to think of his family. Their welfare is more important than ours, but we all believe that GMA (Mrs. Arroyo’s initials) should face trial for this," Eustaquio told reporters.

Eustaquio, with Ruben Dionisio, Denis Ibona and Jim Cabauatan, are the latest signatories in the impeachment complaint, along with UMDJ members who wore blue T-shirts bearing the words "Fight for Justice" yesterday.

Eustaqio said they signed the impeachment complaint because they wanted to send a message to the Arroyo administration and the military that the abduction and harassment of perceived enemies of the administration would not solve the country’s problems.

"It further aggravates the situation. The only solution is to listen to the sentiments of the people. This is the essence of this impeachment," he said. "If she (Arroyo) is not guilty, then this is her chance to explain to the people. But what we are seeing is the opposite."

Dionisio said he was still recovering from the trauma of having been allegedly tortured by the military but decided to sign the complaint, believing that the process was part of their fight for human rights.

"Like what Ver (Eustaquio’s nickname) said, what happened to us was just a small sacrifice so maybe not only us but all Filipinos should make the sacrifice by coming out and demand the ouster of the President," Dionisio said.

The Erap 5, so-called because they are supporters of detained former President Joseph Estrada, were arrested last May 22 as they held a meeting at a house in Kamuning, Quezon City ostensibly on suspicion of plotting a coup.

The military top brass initially denied any role in the abduction of the Estrada supporters but later admitted they were under the custody of military intelligence agents.

The military justified the arrest saying the Kamuning raid was part of its monitoring operations of the movements of perceived enemies of the state.

In a related development, the military Judge Advocate General Office (JAGO) identified yesterday the eight military intelligence agents reportedly behind the arrest.

They are Lt. Col. Henry Robinson, former commander of the Military Intelligence Group (MIG) 15, and seven of his men namely, Navy Capt. Glen Celebrado, Army T/Sgt. Fred Randolf Calabines, Casino Ferrolino and Jeffrey Palenzuela, Army Sergeant Antonio Beloso III, Army Cpl. Raul Duran and Yeoman Chief Mariano Rapanot.

Their names were contained in a seven-page investigation report submitted to JAGO by the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), which initially conducted the probe on the supposedly illegal raid.

Robinson and his men, however, were once again a no-show in yesterday’s pre-trial investigation that would have allowed their supposed victims to identify them before the court.

Aside from their counsel, lawyer Rufus Rodriguez, the five Erap supporters also obtained a copy of the report which they leaked to the media.

Pre-trial investigator Maj. Agustin Matavia gave the Erap 5 until July 26 to file a supplemental complaint against the eight ISAFP men.

At present, the five are only considered as "witnesses" not as accusers of the eight military agents since the investigation was prompted by an order from Armed Forces chief Gen. Generoso Senga, not a formal complaint.

The signature campaign for the Arroyo complaint will continue until the opposition files its next impeachment case against the President when she delivers her annual State of the Nation Address on July 24.

Rep. Teddy Casiño of the militant party-list Bayan Muna said three more complaints are being prepared and will be filed from July 24 to 26 to plug all possible technicalities that will be raised by her allies in the House of Representatives to kill the impeachment move.

Casiño said the minority bloc in the House where he belongs has decided to abandon their original plan of having a serial filing until this week. He said they would just be receiving more complainants as they ready their fifth complaint.

"What we are doing now is that we will be entertaining more complainants for the next 12 days in anticipation of the fifth complaint that we will be filing on July 24, when GMA delivers her State of the Nation Address," he said.

As far as the House opposition is concerned, the party-list lawmaker said Mrs. Arroyo is facing four impeachment complaints which they filed last week — from Monday to Thursday — and that more suits are to come on July 24, 25 and 26.

Casiño said filing more impeachment complaints this week will only be unnecessary because the dates are not that crucial after all. He pointed out that the important dates, or the debatable ones based on legal technicalities, are late June and late July. — With Jaime Laude