A House of Representatives leader on Monday decried the revival of the case involving 17 counts of alleged arson against him, saying he had nothing to with the more than 20-year-old case.
At the same time, House Deputy Speaker and Sulu Rep. Munir Arbison sought a legislative investigation in aid of legislation to look into the alleged abuses committed by some Sulu local officials and their cohorts in the police service.
At a news conference, Arbison, who is seeking reelection as representative of the Second District of Sulu, said he was prevented from filing his certificate of candidacy at the Commission on Elections in Sulu because policemen from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group detailed at the poll body’s office were waiting for him to show up to arrest him.
Arbison said there were 17 arson cases filed against him and the seven warrants of arrest issued by the local court against him have been stopped from being implemented by the Court of Appeals through temporary restraining orders.
“This is political harassment pure and simple. If this is done against me, a congressman, a House Deputy Speaker, how much more to an ordinary citizen. We have already filed a manifestation before the Court of Appeals and yet the PNP-CIDG seemed to have refuse to honor this,” Arbison told reporters.
“I have nothing to do with this case. This is almost a 20-year case. The complainants were merely made to sign an affidavit – they executed an affidavit – despite the absence of a police report and a fire department report on the alleged fire, he added.”
“Most of the complainants were already dead even before the filing of the case or already residing in Malaysia,” Arbison said, even as he accused his political rivals in Sulu as having behind the “political persecution” he is currently fighting.
“The judicial system in Sulu disregarded the [regular] court process by issuing segmented warrants of arrest. The first warrant of arrest was issued on September 4, 2018 that only covers ten counts of arson compared to the total of seventeen counts,” Arbison said, adding that the alleged arson took place in Luuk, Sulu.
“After the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) by the Court of Appeals (CA), another warrant of arrest that covers only one (1) count of arson was issued against me, permitting the possible issuance of more for the remaining six charges,” he added.