Friday, February 26, 2010

Nacionalista Party senatorial candidate and spokesman Atty. Adel Tamano has vowed to take the necessary legal action if restrictions against detained colonel and fellow NP senatorial bet Ariel Querubin continue. Tamano made this clear today when he visited Querubin this morning at his detention area at Camp Aguinaldo. Tamano was with NP standard bearer Manny Villar, vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda and fellow senatorial bets Lisa Maza, Bongbong Marcos, Susan Ople and Gwen Pimentel. Querubin is currently in jail and faces mutiny charges. The charges are connected to the 2006 standoff in the Philippine Marines Headquarters in Fort Bonifacio. Speaking as a spokesman for legal matters for Col. Querubin, Tamano, a constitutional law professor, said to reporters at the site, ""If Col. Querubin is not allowed media access or the right to campaign in the next couple of weeks, Gwen Pimentel and I have volunteered to take the necessary legal action to protect the rights of Col. Querubin." “We demand that Col. Querubin be immediately allowed to campaign for two reasons - Number one, as matter of fair play and equal treatment because the Liberal Party candidate who is similarly situated has been allowed by authorities to have interviews and even go to social activities like school homecomings where he can campaign. As you reporters see right now, our candidate is not even allowed by the higher ups in the military to talk to you so I am forced to be the one to answer your questions. It is most unfair to Col. Querubin and this is not how we should treat our heroes in the military.” “Number two, Article III of the Constitution on the provisions on bail are very clear: all persons have a right to bail except those whose crimes are punishable by Reclusion Perpetua and the evidence of guilt is strong. The underlying rationale for the limitation of the right to bail is the risk of flight or escape of the accused. But Col. Querubin is not a flight risk. In fact, he wants to do the opposite of running away and hiding, he wants to become known to the Filipino people so he can get their support for the upcoming elections. Note that the 1987 Constitution grants bail to all persons and no exception is made because of membership in the military,” Tamano added. The senatorial candidate then reiterated that “it is well within Col. Querubin’s rights to campaign. It’s his constitutional and democratic right to campaign. Let’s not undermine the rights of the Filipino voters to choose the best candidates.” Tamano is the first ever Filipino Muslim to graduate from Harvard Law School. He’s also the former president of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. His senatorial campaign highlights education, youth and good governance.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment