Valera willing to testify on justice-for-sale in Abra

BANGUED, Abra – Beleaguered Gov. Vicente Valera stood firm yesterday on his accusation that justice is for sale in his province, saying he would come forward with specific cases to prove his allegation in a full-blown investigation by judicial authorities.

The governor dared the Supreme Court and the Department of Justice to conduct such an investigation and review how cases were "terminated, dismissed or otherwise" in his province, "most especially in the prosecutors’ office."

"If a full-blown investigation is held, I am willing to testify and cite cases," Valera, himself a lawyer, told The STAR.

For instance, he cited how a respondent in a multimillion-peso estafa case filed by the Abra Electric Cooperative allegedly eluded justice after he escaped to the United States. He claimed that the provincial prosecutor’s office dilly-dallied in filing the information in court.

Valera came under attack from provincial chapters of the Philippine Judges’ Association, Integrated Bar of the Philippines and National Prosecutors’ League which, in a joint manifesto, said his allegation "is not only unfair to the legal profession but highly inflammatory."

Manifesto

The manifesto was signed by Abra Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Charito Gonzales, RTC Judge Corpuz Alzate, IBP-Abra president Cipriano Blanco, regional state prosecutor Oscar Lorenzo and assistant provincial prosecutor Nestor Tolentino.

Valera made the controversial remark after the recent ambush of provincial prosecutor Rodor Gayao and three others. He said the attack could have been the handiwork of litigants dissatisfied with the way criminal cases are being dispensed in Abra.

"Justice is for sale here and the whole province knows it," Valera said.

The governor condemned the incident yesterday, saying it was an "act of cowardice" by the perpetrators.

"But let it be an eye-opener for everybody and I urge the Supreme Court, through the Court Administrator, and the justice department to conduct a review of cases in Abra," he said.

He said it was his duty as governor to reveal the state of the delivery of justice in Abra.

"We are lucky that my provincemates are not yet relying on the New People’s Army for quick justice, but shall we wait for that time to come?," he asked.

Illegal gun case

He cited another case involving illegal possession of high-powered firearms where, he said, the court approved the prosecutor’s recommendation of a reduced bail of P20,000 for each of eight respondents.

The amount, Valera said, is too low for gun possession cases. "Now those guys, who are actually goons of a mayor, are roaming around freely," he said.

He wondered why in another gun possession case involving a homemade handgun, the prosecutor allegedly objected to the respondent’s motion to reduce the recommended bail of P120,000.

"Is this not double-standard on the part of our judicial system here?" he asked. "I wonder why both the prosecution and the court acted that way in the case of the eight goons."

"We are confronted with other criminal cases like drug-related ones. I pray that the drug menace does not turn from worse to worst with the kind of judicial performance we are having here," he said.