14 resource persons now considered wanted for evading Senate arrest

The Senate now considers “wanted” the 14 resource persons it ordered arrested after they “deliberately” evaded their arrest, Senate sergeant-at-arms Jose Balajadia said on Wednesday.

“Dahil hindi nagpapakita so wanted sila sa Senate (Because they did not show up, they are wanted at the Senate),” Balajadia told reporters.

READ: 14 resource persons in Senate’s Binay probe ordered arrested, detained

He said Senate security personnel were immediately deployed to serve the arrest and detention order   on the 14 resource persons but they could not be found in the addresses they gave to the Senate.

“Wala kaming nakuha,” he said. “Mayroon isa o dawala doon na  peke  ang address. Pagdating namin doon ang sabi ng may-ari ng bahay, ‘bakit naman n’yo ako sinasali hindi ko nga kilala ‘yung taong yan.’”

(We weren’t able to arrest any of them. One or two of them provided fake addresses. When we got to one of the addressed they provided, the owner said why they would be implicated when they didn’t know the people involved.)

“So in other words, when these people submitted their addresses for their subpoena,mali. Kaya pala bumabalik kami minsan walang kumukuha ng subpoena, walang nakakakilala sa kanila,” he further said.

(So in other words, these people submitted fake addresses for their subpoena. That’s why when we returned, no one got the subpoenas because no one knew them.)

Balajadia said there was also one who tried to stop his men but he said people told that person that he could be charged with obstruction of justice.

Even businessman Antonio Tiu, who had allegedly expressed in the media that he was willing to surrender if ordered arrested, could not be found in his given address.

“Sinabi n’ya hindi s’ya matatakot magpa-arrest pero ang problema where do we find him to arrest?” said the sergeant-at-arms.

(He said he wasn’t afraid to get arrested, but the problem is where do we find him so we could arrest him?)

Asked if he thinks the resource persons were deliberately trying to evade the arrest, Balajadia said, apparently referring to Tiu: “Deliberate kasi sabi n’ya hindi ako natatakot magpa-arrest e ‘di maghintay ka sa bahay mo magpa-arrest ka or you can come here and surrender…”

(It was deliberate because he said that he wasn’t afraid to get arrested so he should just have waited in his home for the arrest or he could come here and surrender.)

The 14 resource persons “wanted by the Senate” are the following:

Antonio Tiu

Gerry Limlingan

Vissia Marie Aldon

Danilo Villas

Aida Alcantara

Hirene Lopez

Irene S. Chong

Imee S. Chong

Kim Tun S. Chong

Irish S. Chong

Erlinda S. Chong

Kimster S. Chong

Anne Lorraine Buencamino-Tiu

James L. Tiu

But Senator Teofisto “TG” Guingona III, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee that cited the 14 in contempt, ordered  the Senate sergeant-at-arms to hold the arrest of  Aldon and Villas in abeyance until Monday next week after the two promised to attend its subcommittee’s next hearings on May 28, 2015.

READ: Arrest of 3 Makati execs held in abeyance until Monday
Guingona also ordered to hold in abeyance of the arrest of Engineer Line dela Peña, whose arrest and detention order was earlier issued by the chamber.

Like Aldon and Villas, Dela Peña also promised to appear before the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee, which is investigating the corruption allegations against Vice President  Jejomar Binay. IDL