"Itong kasong ito ay inimbento ng gobyerno, itong kasong ito ay talaga pong gawa-gawa lamang para po makapaghiganti ang gobyerno laban kay dating Pangulong Arroyo at siya po ay maipakulong dahil yan daw po yata ang popular alinsunod sa paniniwala po ng gobyerno," Atty. Raul Lambino, legal spokesperson of Mrs. Arroyo, said during a press conference on Friday.

 

Lambino, however, failed to explain how the administration was orchestrating the supposed revenge plot against Mrs. Arroyo but he noted that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) seems to be always willing to follow the Palace's orders.

 

"Kitang-kita po rin natin kung gaano kabigat yung pagdiddiin ng pamahalaan laban kay dating Pangulong Arroyo...nakikita naman po natin yung actuation ng [Comelec]," he said.

As of posting time, GMA News Online was still waiting for a reaction from Malacañang.


Lambino issued his remarks after ex-Maguindanao provincial administrator Norie Unas testified before a Pasay City court on Thursday that Mrs. Arroyo supposedly ordered then-Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. to ensure the victory of administration senatorial bets in the province in the 2007 elections.

 

Unas gave this testimony during the bail hearing for Mrs. Arroyo, who, together with former poll chairman Benjamin Abalos and other officials, is charged with electoral sabotage in connection with alleged fraud during the 2007 midterm elections.  

The Comelec and the Department of Justice filed the charges.

 

But Lambino maintained that Unas is not a credible witness and that they will ask the court to strike off his testimony from the record.

 

"Maliwanag na hindi po siya credible, maliwanag po na siya'y nagsisinungaling, maliwanag na falsehood po yung kanyang testimony at ito po ay violation ng ating basic rules of evidence," he said.

 

He added that Unas' allegation that Mrs. Arroyo gave such order to Andal Sr. was not even included in the information initially filed against the former President by the joint panel of the DOJ and Comelec.

 

"Depektibo po iyong information, iyan po yung tinatawag nating heart and soul of any criminal case dahil kailangan ihayag yung major and cause of accusation against the accused para po hindi maviolate yung tinatawag nating criminal due process," he said.

Hearsay?

 

Also on Friday, Mrs. Arroyo's husband, former First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, likewise dismissed the testimony of Una as hearsay.

 

Lambino also said that upon cross-examination by lawyers, it would appear that Unas was only testifying against Mrs. Arroyo to save himself from being implicated in other cases.

 

"Kinatatakutan niyang siya ay masangkot sa electoral sabotage. Pangalawa, kinakatakutan niyang isasangkot siya sa Maguindanao massacre, at pangatlo, na isasangkot siya doon sa mas nauna pang krimen na tinatawag nilang chainsaw massacre," he said.

 

Unas served with the Ampatuans from 2001 to 2009. He also served as Andal Sr.'s close adviser and spokesman. Andal Sr. and his two sons, Andal Jr. and Zaldy, and son-in-law Akhmad, are implicated in the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre of 57 people in the province.

 

Comelec chief Sixto Brillantes Jr. earlier defended the credibility of Unas, saying that they had interviewed him several times already.

 

He also said that Unas' "direct knowledge" of the Maguindanao massacre doesn't make him dubious, adding that his relationship with the Ampatuan clan is even key to the veracity of his testimony. — RSJ, GMA News