Do you agree with Fr. Rannie Aquinos comments on the prosecutions move to amend the charges against the senators? “It is now clear that the prosecution wishes the senators on the dock -- which is exactly the reason that the amendments sought to lay the blame clearly at their doorsteps. But that is not supposed to be the role of prosecutors. It is their bounden duty rather to see to it that the culpable are prosecuted, and that the innocent are spared the ignominy of trials of this sort,” Aquino said. “We now know that the Office of the Special Prosecutor wished to include the phrase ‘collected directly or indirectly’ as well as the clause ‘exerted undue influence’ in reference to the accused senators’ role vis-à-vis the implementing agencies. Clearly then, the amendment was sought, not because there was new evidence, but because the prosecutors wanted the culpability to rest squarely on the shoulders of the senators,” he said. However, Aquino clarified that the failed attempt to amend the information does not automatically mean the accused are innocent. “But it does raise the question about the precipitousness with which the information was filed. It also suggests that the prosecution itself is dissatisfied with the information. Also, it unwittingly makes the job of the prosecution now more difficult for not only must they prove acts of graft and corruption and other crimes, the combination or series of which constitutes plunder,” he said.
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 23:19:06 +0000
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