5 partyt-list lawmakers extend House stay

Five party-list lawmakers who decided to seek refuge from arrest in the House of Representatives backtracked from their promise to leave the premises yesterday, extending their stay at least until Monday next week.

Reps. Satur Ocampo, Teddy Casiño, Joel Virador of Bayan Muna, Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis and Liza Maza of women’s group Gabriela said they decided to extend their stay upon the request of their "constituents."

The five face arrest for alleged involvement in a coup plot against President Arroyo that was uncovered last Friday.

Senior Superintendent Asher Dolina of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and Chief Superintendent Oscar Calderon, deputy chief for administration, went to the House to make arrangements for the planned turnover of the lawmakers to authorities, but this was postponed.

Maza said Virador will celebrate his 39th birthday on Sunday inside the House premises.

"We will just have barbecue over here," Ocampo and Casiño said, joking with reporters during yesterday’s daily briefing, the fourth since they sought sanctuary in the House beginning on Monday.

Casiño said they had decided to "heed" their constituents’ advice to prolong their stay at the House — where they enjoy immunity from arrest — rather than face harm outside, where they run the risk of being arrested on rebellion charges, or worse, maltreated by police officers.

The militant lawmakers made it clear that they did not fear arrest, but noted they have not stepped outside of the halls of Congress because CIDG men are stationed there.

Members of the lower chamber’s security force said they could provide security to the left-leaning congressmen inside the premises of Congress, but that they would not be held accountable if the lawmakers step out of their area of jurisdiction.

The lawmakers reiterated their call to release their colleague, Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran, 73, who was brought at noon yesterday to the Philippine National Police General Hospital inside Camp Crame in Quezon City, where he was treated for hypertension.

Beltran was given maintenance medicine and is set to undergo laboratory tests.

Anakpawis called for the government to release Beltran from police custody and to transfer him to another hospital for confinement under the custody of the House "in order to be given proper medical attention."

"Beltran’s arrest and incarceration is un-humanitarian, illegal and unconstitutional. This arrest under the Arroyo administration’s ‘state of emergency’ is a grave violation of his civil and political rights. It must be condemned by all freedom-loving Filipinos and the international human rights community," the party-list group said in a statement.

The defiant lawmakers also repeated their call for President Arroyo to lift Proclamation 1017, which they said is no different from martial law. They also expressed doubts over Mrs. Arroyo’s statement that she would revoke the order by this Saturday.

"Her assurance to the public is nothing but meaningless double-talk aimed at placating the fury of the public. She could have lifted the proclamation since Wednesday. The question is what’s stopping her," Virador said.

Speaker Jose de Venecia, acceding to a request from the beleaguered congressmen, took them under his custody Monday and said arrests of congressmen should be coursed through his office and House sergeant-at-arms Bayani Fabic.

"We wanted to show that no congressman is above the law," De Venecia said.

Under House Resolution 1169, "the entry of military, police tasked to effect the arrest of any member of the House unless properly coordinated with the House leadership including sergeant-at-arms" is prohibited.