ARROYO APPOINTED CHIEF JUSTICE MAY FUEL FURTHER INSTABILITY AMIDST FEARS OF FAILURE OF ELECTIONS: Bayan Muna asks JBC not to submit list to Malcanang

ARROYO APPOINTED CHIEF JUSTICE MAY FUEL FURTHER INSTABILITY AMIDST FEARS OF FAILURE OF ELECTIONS: Bayan Muna asks JBC not to submit list to Malcanang

BAYAN MUNA Party List, alarmed by the decision of the Judicial Bar Council (JBC) to submit its list of nominees to Pres. Gloria Arroyo and give her the luxury of appointing the next Supreme Court Chief Justice, urgently asks the JBC to reconsider its decision. Bayan Muna is afraid of a major upheaval if Pres. Arroyo appoints the next chief justice instead of allowing the new president to appoint the replacement of Chief Justice Reynato Puno.

“Should failure of elections happen, it will be difficult for the people to follow a decision favorable to Pres. Arroyo issued by a Supreme Court under an Arroyo appointed Chief Justice” said Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casino. “Whether true or not, the Chief Justice will be perceived as beholden to Pres. Arroyo. A presidential appointment by Arroyo is a kiss of death”. Bayan Muna believes that Associate Justice Renato Corona will be appointed and Pres. Arroyo is just pretending to go through the motions. “There is no chance that the other justices will get selected. Justice Corona who was the Presidential Legal Counsel is the closest to the President. It will be a tough life for Justice Corona”, added Rep. Casino.

“There is no reason why Pres. Arroyo should rush the appointment of a Chief Justice. A collegial body like the Supreme Court has survived without a chief justice before. The only reason why she is moving heaven and earth to appoint one is because she intends to have a friendly Supreme Court once plunder cases are filed against her” said Bayan Muna Representative Neri Javier Colmenares.

Bayan Muna previously filed a House Bill 7109 entitled “An Act Prohibiting the President from Making Appointments to Judicial Positions, including that of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, During the Period Provided Under Section 15 Article VII of the Constitution and for Other Purposes” with the hope of precisely preventing this dangerous situation for the Court. Pres. Arroyo’s majority in the House however made sure that the bill will not pass. The bill provides that in case of a vacancy in the office of Chief Justice during the period when the President is prohibited from appointing the Chief Justice, the most senior Associate Justice shall act as Interim Chief Justice until another Chief Justice is appointed by the incoming President. This procedure is in fact already provided under Republic Act 296 or the Judiciary Act of 1948.

Bayan Muna whose two nominees. Atty. Neri Colmenares and Atty. Joven Laura are human rights lawyers in the Visayas and Bicol regions respectively, urges the JBC not to submit its list to Malacanang. “Pres. Arroyo may still be forced not to appoint a chief justice if the people will show outrage over this brazen lack of delicadeza. We hope, however, that the JBC will not to submit the list to Pres. Arroyo as planned since Pres. Arroyo does not know the word delicadeza” concluded Rep. Colmenares.###

BAYAN MUNA CHARGES GONZALES, BANGIT WITH ELECTION OFFENSES

BAYAN MUNA CHARGES GONZALES, BANGIT WITH ELECTION OFFENSES, CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION OF MISUSE OF INTELLIGENCE FUNDS FOR ELECTORAL FRAUD AND PARTISAN POLITICAL ACTIVITY

Bayan Muna representative and senatorial candidate Satur Ocampo will file a complaint at the COMELEC today against generals Delfin Bangit and Reynaldo Mapagu, and Department of National Defense Ssecretary Norberto Gonzales for partisan political activity and harassment conducted by the Armed Forces of the Philippines against supporters of Bayan Muna, senatorial candidate Satur Ocampo and other progressive candidates.

Bayan Muna wants COMELEC to prosecute Bangit, Gonzales, and Mapagu for misusing their official powers and functions, by ordering military personnel to conduct nationwide, organized, and systematic attacks against Bayan Muna's candidates and supporters, including the use of public funds to fund these activities.

Bayan Muna is also asking COMELEC to subpoena the military’s intelligence funds expenditure to investigate if these were spent on electoral intervention and fraud.

These acts of the military are partisan political activity and a clear violation of the Omnibus Election Code. The complaint is part of a series of complaints already filed against military officers in Sorsogon, South Cotabato and Davao.

“We have officials in the military and in the government especially Bangit, Mapagu, and Gonzales who have turned deaf despite the glaring evidence of violations committed by their subordinates. We will make sure that the perpetrators of these attacks are seriously prosecuted to hammer the message that the military should not interfere in the elections," Bayan Muna representative and legal counsel Neri Colmenares said. "We hope this will serve as a warning to those who persist in harassing us that we will not take this sitting down.”

“We are now asking the Commission on Elections to act with speed on this complaint and they should not, unlike the military, be numb to these violations,” he said.###

Bayan Muna: Foil ‘Oplan RAFAEL’

From no election to failure of election

Bayan Muna: Foil ‘Oplan RAFAEL’

In a picket-protest at the gates of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) Camp Aguinaldo today, Bayan Muna Partylist warned against efforts by certain quarters in the defense department and the AFP to replace "Oplan No-El" (No Elections) with "Oplan RAFAEL" (Retain Arroyo through FAilure of ELections).

“The game plan of election operators within the Department of National Defense and the AFP has already changed from ‘NOEL’ to 'RAFAEL’ ,” Casiño said, noting how DND Sec. Norberto Gonzales himself had been repeatedly hammering at the possibility of poll failure due to defects in the automation system or other cheating mechanisms.

"Rather than a postponement of the elections, the scenario builders and planners including Gonzales are now looking at a failure of elections to ensure Arroyo's stay in power. These are creative and cunning minds who will exploit every opportunity to retain the status quo," he warned.

Casiño reiterated their call for Gonzales to resign or be fired for cooking up such scenarios.

“Sec. Gonzales himself, a staunch Arroyo loyalist, said there’s already fraud and cheating involving the military. That is true in the case of the AFP and its adjuncts actively campaigning against Bayan Muna, Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza. In fact, we are filing a complaint against Gonzales and Gen. Bangit later at the Comelec for election offenses,” Casiño added.

“The people should always be on guard and immediately report any military involvement in partisan electoral activities, which include campaigning for or against a candidate. We already have evidence of a nationwide smear and harassment campaign that military agents are doing against progressive candidates. We fear that the military’s attacks and electoral fraud against us will intensify in the coming days unless the AFP leadership seriously orders and sanctions all those involved in electioneering,” said Casiño.###