Makati RTC defers hearing Beltran's case

Party-list Rep. Crispin Beltran (Anakpawis) on Monday morning was a no-show at the Makati Regional Trial Court hearing on his petition questioning the rebellion charges the Philippine National Police (PNP) filed against him. The PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) failed to bring Beltran to Makati RTC-Branch 138 due to the absence of a court order mandating the lawmaker’s presence, GMA 7’s DZBB reported. State prosecutors were also absent. Lawyer Romeo Capulong, legal counsel of Beltran, was present at the hearing. Capulong asked the court to dismiss the charges filed against Beltran, insisting there was no probable cause to indict his client with rebellion. Beltran was arrested at his residence in Bulacan last February 25, a day after President Arroyo declared a state of national emergency. Police used a 1985 arrest warrant issued by a local court to justify Beltran’s arrest. Beltran was among the 51 personalities charged by the police with rebellion for their alleged involvement in a failed destabilization plot against President Arroyo. Authorities rushed Beltran to the PNP General Hospital in Camp Crame over the weekend after he experienced difficulty in breathing and hypertension.-GMANews.TV