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Leftists: Why not a ‘citizen arrest’ to hiding Neri, Lozada

Staunch critics of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Saturday proposed the Senate to issue a citizen arrest order against fugitives Romulo Neri, chair of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Rodolfo Lozada Jr., president of the state-owned Philippine Forestry Corp.

The militant fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) made the recommendation a day after Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, chair of the powerful Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, accused Malacañang of helping the former chief of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) to stay away from the resumption of the Senate investigation on the controversial National Broadband Network (NBN) deal.

“Aside from the arrest warrant issued by the Senate, the Upper House might issue a warrant for citizen arrest against Neri and Lozada,” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement.

“Our proposed citizen arrest against Neri and Lozada will compliment the warrant of arrest issued by the Senate against hostile witnesses Neri and Lozada,” the Pamalakaya chair added.

Hicap agreed with Senator Cayetano that it was Malacañang who authored and ordered the great escapes of the CHED chair and Lozada to further spoil the Senate investigation on the China’s ZTE deal and prevent the Senate further unearthing the truth about the $ 329 million NBN deal that would implicate President Arroyo, First Gentleman Atty. Jose Miguel Arroyo and other associates identified with Malacañang.

Pamalakaya likewise agreed with Senate President Manuel Villar in addressing Neri as fugitive from justice, a day after the former NEDA Chief refused to testify on the NBN deal and went on hiding yesterday to evade the warrant of arrest issued by the Senate.

“Actually not only Neri, but Lozada as well is a fugitive from justice,” the militant group said.

While Villar and Cayetano earned praise for their statements and course of actions against Neri and Lozada, Pamalakaya assailed Presidential Legal Chief Sergio Apostol for denying that the Palace had a hand in Neri’s failure to testify in the Senate hearing and for cracking a joke which is not funny but insulting to the collective intelligence of the Filipino people.

Quoted by Palace reporters yesterday, Apostol said:” I don’t know. They can try and look for him in Malacañang,” suggesting that the senators could search the entire complex in Barangay San Miguel, Manila from Gate 6 to St. Jude Parish Church.

Chuckling further, Apostol said:” They asked me about it. We are supposedly hiding Neri here. Why we would hide Neri. But they can try to come here….although we have many PSG here,” which Pamalakaya said was an implicit and indirect insinuation that the Senate arresting officers will have to face members of the Presidential Security Group before they could get inside the Palace and search for Neri.

“Apostol’s incorrigible action explains why Malacañang is a dangerous place for the Filipino people. Blood thirsty animals like Apostol are there,” Pamalakaya said

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 05:50 | link | comments |

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