Rep. Ignacio Arroyo’s former bookkeeper to pusue case vs Senate–lawyer

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of Rowena del Rosario is pursuing the case against her arrest and detention in the Senate even after she was freed by the chamber last week.

“Tuloy pa rin ang kaso hanggat hindi sinasabi sa amin ng  aming  kliyente  na huwag ituloy [The case will continue until our client tells us to stop],” Del Rosario’s lawyer, Nunilo Marapao, said over the phone on Monday.

“We want the court to decide squarely on the issue. Hindi pwedeng magpapakulong sa tao ng ganun lang [A person can’t be detained just like that],”  Marapao said.

Del Rosario was detained by the Senate last Monday after she failed to satisfy members of the blue ribbon committee investigating the allegedly anomalous sale of secondhand helicopters to the Philippine National Police.

Del Rosario was Negros Occidental Representative Ignacio Arroyo’s bookkeeper when the family-owned LTA Inc. supposedly rented  five helicopters from Lionair Inc., of which two were sold as brand to  the PNP.

The committee freed the witness only last Thursday.

Despite the release, Marapao said there were still certain issues that must be addressed by the court like whether or not the Senate has the basis to detain his client and to also have a clear definition of  what being evasive is.

“In other words, ano ba talaga ang rights ng isang [what are the rights of a] resource person?” the lawyer asked.

Marapao maintained that the  rights of his client were violated and that something must be done to avoid a similar incident in the  future.

“Ganun na lang ba [Is that all there is to it]? Just do that in a whim? Hindi naman yata tama[I don’t think that’s right]. Wala man lang bang [Is there no] recourse?” he said.

“Somehow meron talagang pananagutan kahit man lang sa publiko [there should be some form of accountability even to the public],” he said when asked if the Senate or some senators should be held accountable for detaining Del Rosario.

“Maybe you should apologize. They are decent people. If there is a mistake, what do you do?” he asked.

Marapao  was quick to clarify  though that  he was not asking for an apology but a “decency” to react when the  court seeks  for it.

“Test case na lang ito [This is a test case],” he added.

Twelve senators signed the arrest and detention order of the witness.