Sandiganbayan orders arrest of former Justice chief Perez

MANILA, Philippines - The Sandiganbayan's First Division on Friday ordered the arrest of former Justice Secretary Hernando Perez over the $2-million extortion case filed by former Manila Representative Mark Jimenez. The court also issued warrants for the arrest of Perez's co-accused in connection with a graft case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman on April 18. The Ombudsman filed four criminal charges against Perez, including robbery/extortion, falsification of public document and violation of sections 3 and 7 of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act). In the same complaint, robbery charges were also filed against Perez' wife, Rosario, brother-in-law, Ramon Arceo, and business associate Ernest Escaler. Escaler was the only one who posted a P30,000 bail bond set by the court for his temporary liberty. A court officer said the arrest order was released at 3:45 p.m. Sandiganbayan chief sheriff Edgardo Urieta is out of the country but one of his senior deputies said the warrant is unlikely to be served over the weekend. “Baka sa Monday na lang. We’ll likely just hand it over to the police. Mahirap naman na i-serve agad-agad baka sabihin pini-personal namin ang kaso (We will serve the warrant on Monday...It's difficult to just immediately serve it. We might be accused of making the issue personal)," he added. In a hearing Friday morning, the First Division held that it is not precluded by the pendency of Perez’ petition for certiorari before the Supreme Court wherein the former DOJ chief challenged the validity of his indictment by the Ombudsman. Presiding Justice and division chairman Diosdado Peralta said the court will issue the arrest warrants the moment it determines the existence of probable cause. Meanwhile, prosecutors opposed Perez’ motion to defer proceedings in all four cases while the Supreme Court is deliberating on his petition. Government lawyers said the motion lacks merit particularly as the High Tribunal has not issued an injunction order enjoining the Sandiganbayan from proceeding with the trial. The cases stemmed from a complaint filed by Jimenez that Perez and the other defendants extorted $2 million from him after he refused to execute affidavits implicating associates of former President Joseph Estrada in the latter’s plunder case. - GMANews.TV