LIBERALS TO
ESPINO:
FACE THE CHARGES, STOP
BLAMING OTHERS
The Liberal Party in Pangasinan today asked Gov. Amado Espino to prepare a
solid legal defense rather than blame his political rivals for the series of
criminal charges filed against him in connection with his alleged involvement
in murder and jueteng operations.
“The charges against Gov. Espino are serious
and may land him in jail if found guilty. He better prepare a solid legal
defense or he may find himself behind bars,” said LP spokesman and former
Pangasinan Vice Governor Oscar Lambino said.
Atty. Bodie Pulido, the
LP's congressional candidate for Pangasinan's First District, advised Gov.
Espino to hire a better lawyer who spends more time in keeping clients out of
jail than in holding expensive press conferences just to look good before the
media.
“The governor should be man enough to face the charges. He should stop blaming
politics or his political rivals for the crimes attributed to him,” he added.
Pulido noted that it has become a habit for Gov. Espino to
blame politics every time law enforcement agencies close in on him and find
merits to file charges for crimes he allegedly committed while in office.
“The good governor is getting predictable. Every time law enforcers charge him
for his sins of the past, his stooges hold a press conference the following day
and blame politics for the court cases,” Pulido said.
“Worse, instead of defending the governor in court, his lawyers immediately
scout for false witnesses to file trumped-up counter-charges against his
gubernatorial rival,” he pointed out.
Last week, the National Bureau of the Investigation (NBI) filed a murder case
against Gov. Espino, Rep. Jesus “Boyong” Celeste and newspaper publisher Jaime
Aquino after a witness tagged them as masterminds in the killing of their
partymate Mayor Ruperto Martinez of Infanta last December.
The witness, a 16-year-old son of Aquino, told NBI investigators that he was
present when the trio held a meeting with a gunman who were allegedly hired by
Gov. Espino and Rep. Celeste to kill Martinez.
The governor and the congressman allegedly ordered the killing of Martinez
after the mayor learned of their involvement in the illegal trade of a mineral
called “itim na bato,” apparently referring to nickel being mined in Zambales
and smuggled out of Infanta port.
The teenage witness also told probers that Gov. Espino masterminded the
killings of Jovencia Gasmin, barangay kagawad of San Juan, Alcala, and
Bayambang Councilor Nato Sabangan last year.
Gasmin, a leader of an environmentalist group in Pangasinan, was shot to death
by gunmen while scouting for signatories to a petition against illegal
quarrying operations in Alcala.
Last December, two witnesses also surfaced and pointed to Gov. Espino as the
brain behind jueteng operations in Pangasinan.
Mayor Ric Orduna of Bugallon, a political lieutenant and trusted ally of Gov.
Espino, said he was the one assigned by Gov. Espino to collect money from
jueteng bet collectors on the governor’s behalf.
Orduna has filed plunder charges against Gov. Espino before the Office of the
Ombudsman, claiming that the governor pocketed more than P900 million from
proceeds of jueteng operations in Pangasinan.
His statements were corroborated by Fernando Alimagno, alias Boy Bata, who is
one of the biggest gambling lords in Pangasinan and Southern Tagalog. Alimagno
is currently running as mayoral candidate in Candelaria, Quezon, under the
banner of PDP-Laban.
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