Forgeries meant to subvert the truth
A lawmaker on Wednesday called on authorities to relentlessly pursue those who propagated false testimony at an investigation of the Senate blue ribbon committee on the flood control projects in Bulacan and other parts of the country.
House infra committee chair and Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon said the Department of Justice (DOJ) must hasten to file charges against “all those responsible for this calculated fabrication.”
“This was no clerical mistake,” Ridon said. “It was a premeditated attempt to subvert truth and derail a Senate inquiry … The DOJ must act decisively so that political forgery never again finds refuge in impunity.”
In a post on his YouTube account on Wednesday, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said while Orly Guteza may have fixed a serious defect in his affidavit by reading its text into the record, he tried to submit the affidavit supposedly notarized by lawyer Petchie Rose Espera.
Forged affidavits
Guteza claimed at the hearing last month to have personally delivered suitcases of kickback money to the residences of resigned Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Sen. Rodante Marcoleta and former lawmaker Mike Defensor later defended Guteza as having read this affidavit into the record and making it his own, but Lacson said he tried to present a forged document in a legal proceeding and both acts are serious criminal offenses primarily governed by the Revised Penal Code (RPC), specifically under Articles 170 to 175.
These crimes involve the intentional alteration, fabrication or duplication of documents to deceive or gain an unlawful benefit, with penalties varying based on the type of document, the status of the offender and the specific act committed.
Manila regional trial court executive judge Carolina Icasiano-Sison ruled that Guteza, a surprise witness brought by Marcoleta at the behest of Defensor—fabricated the affidavit that was supposedly been notarized by Espera.
In her ruling, Icasiano-Sison cited a report by the National Bureau of Investigation which found that Espera’s purported signature in the affidavit and her other notarial records were not the same.
The judge also ruled that Guteza and all those who made use of the document “not only introduced the forged and notarized Sinumpaang Salaysay, but also actively participated in its falsification.”
Ridon said such a matter not only “taints the credibility” of Guteza but also raises questions on his claims and motivation.
Ridon stressed that all legislative inquiries “depend on the authenticity of every document submitted … When fabricated evidence is used to manipulate proceedings, it is not just an attack on individuals but on Congress itself.”
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla himself said that the respondents in the cases they are currently handling have already turned in their own sworn statements and he expects government lawyers to complete the processing by November.
