Former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday said his camp will exhaust all legal means to release the six Ilocos Norte officials who have been detained at the House of Representatives since May 29.
Marcos, who visited the so-called “Ilocos Six” at the Batasan Complex, said their detention was “cruel and unusual.”
“We are pursuing every legal recourse that will be available to us for them to be released. Whatever case that needs to be filed then we will answer that in court. This is cruel and unusual,” Marcos said, saying that the detainees are not criminals and terrorists.
Marcos lamented that the detained employees and officials of the provincial capital of Ilocos Norte were his and Rudy Fariñas’ employees also during their stints as governor of Ilocos Norte.
He said some of the employees are now experiencing health problems because of their age and detention for almost three weeks.
Marcos also said he sent a letter to the office of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez appealing for the release of the detained local employees and officials of Ilocos Norte.
“Kaya nakaka-awa naman pinuntahan ko at makita ko naman kasi mga tao ko ito. Actually they were also employees of Rudy Fariñas when he was governor of Ilocos Norte. Mga tao rin nya iyan, now presently staff in the governor’s office under Gov. Imee,” Marcos said.
He said he tried to reach out to Fariñas on the matter but failed. He also questioned the position of the House of Representatives not to honor the ruling of the CA by invoking the separation of powers.
“We are separate branches of government. It is very rare that any branch defies the order of the judiciary which is exactly what is happening now,” Marcos said.
It was Fariñas, political rival of Governor Imee Marcos, who moved for the detention of the Ilocos Six during a congressional hearing after they allegedly failed to explain the alleged irregularity in the purchase of P66.45-million motor vehicles using tobacco funds of the province.
Governor Marcos explained that the vehicles bought from the tobacco funds, which is guaranteed under Republic Act 7171 where 15 percent of excise tax collected from cigarette products should go to tobacco farmers, will help farmers for the quick transport of their agricultural products.
This developed as two administration lawmakers defended Alvarez from the Court of Appeal’s decision to cite him in contempt over the House of Representatives’ continued detention of the so-called “Ilocos 6.”
Reps. Johnny Pimentel of Surigao del Sur and Rodolfo Albano III of Isabela said Alvarez did not commit any abuse of authority as he was just exercising the powers of the House.
The CA’s Special Fourth Division had earlier issued a release order for the Ilocos 6. But the House asserted its power being a co-equal branch with the judiciary and so ignored the release order.
“The power of contempt of Congress is not subject to judicial review, hence the Speaker does not recognize the jurisdiction of CA,” Pimentel, chairman of the House committee on good government and public accountability, said.
Pimentel’s panel recommended the detention of the six Ilocos officials, claiming they showed disrespect to the House panel when they evaded questions raised by lawmakers during the hearing. The six are Ilocos Norte Provincial Treasurer officers Genedine Jambaro, Encarnacion Gaors and Josephine Calajate; Ilocos Norte Accountant IV Eden Battulayan, Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Chairman, Engineer Pedro Agcaoili, and Ilocos Norte Provincial Budget Officer Evangeline Tabulog.
The CA Special Fourth Division earlier issued a show cause orders directing the House leadership and Sergeant-at-Arms Lt. Gen. (ret) Roland M. Detabali to explain why they should not be cited in contempt of court for defying a court order to release the six local officials.
The Ilocos 6” had been held at the office of Detabali inside the Batasan Complex after they were cited for contempt of the Lower House on May 2
Alvarez called the CA justices “stupid” and “grossly ignorant of the law” for even trying to cite him in contempt. Albano, for his part, claimed that the Speaker was right on the money with his description of the magistrates.
“They can try to cite him for contempt but it won’t prosper. Gago naman talaga yung mga justices at mga ignorant (Those justices truly are fools and ignorant),” Albano, majority leader for the House contingent’s Commission on Appointments, said.
The House adjourned sine die last May 31. But the House committee on good government intends to call a hearing should the Ilocos 6 decide to tell what they know regarding the purchase of 144 motor vehicles, which were carried out through three huge cash advances from 2011 to 2012