A BRIEF ruckus erupted outside a coffee shop at a mall yesterday as National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 operatives forcibly took into custody a former mayor who reportedly resisted arrest by attacking an agent.

Former Compostela mayor Gilbert Wagas was brought to the NBI headquarters in handcuffs, arrested by virtue of a bench warrant issued on July 2, 2003 following his Oct. 8, 2001 conviction for malversation before the Sandiganbayan.

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Gilbert was charged with malversation of P376,618.65 in public funds. He was charged with then Compostela municipal treasurer Dominador Maravillas Jr. They pleaded not guilty.

“(The Sandiganbayan) stayed that decision. He is being arrested twice for the same case,” incumbent Compostela Mayor Ritchie Wagas said. Ritchie, Gilbert’s younger brother, went to the NBI headquarters yesterday afternoon after hearing of the arrest.

In a press conference later, Gilbert said the he is blaming the Duranos for his arrest.

“Mine is a small sacrifice. We have been ruled by one political family for the last 66 years,” he said, adding that his arrest was politically motivated and done only because he intends to run for congress in the fifth district where Rep. Ramon “Red” Durano VI is incumbent.

He called the warrant putos’ buwad, a recycled piece of dried fish wrapper.

His lawyer, George Bragat, said the bench warrant used to arrest him only had a validity of 10 days and was not an alias warrant.

He said there is also that pending omnibus motion that makes the Sandiganbayan’s reclusion perpetua conviction on him non-final and non-executory and that the proof that it has not yet been resolved is the absence of a new warrant issued against him.

“Gilbert is a living, breathing monument of a free man,” Bragat stressed.

Ritchie was already in the office NBI Executive Officer Ernesto Macabare when Gilbert, whose hands were cuffed behind his back, was brought in by a team led by Special Investigator Arnel Pura.

The issue of Gilbert being cuffed led to a brief confrontation between Ritchie, who said the arrest may have been politically motivated as Gilbert was running for

Congress, and Pura, who said they exercised maximum tolerance until Gilbert actually resisted arrest by attempting to punch agent Bernard dela Cruz.

Pura said the arrest was lawfully made and authorized by a standing bench warrant.

Agents, who asked not to be named, said they arrived at the mall and approached Gilbert outside the coffee shop.

They said Gilbert was informed of the warrant but asked that he not be taken into custody yet as he was about to meet somebody. They said Gilbert went inside the coffee shop while they waited outside.

Moments later, they said, Gilbert went out but made the same request, saying he needed to call his lawyers. This time, the agents said they offered that Gilbert make the call from the NBI office.

One agent said Gilbert kept walking away, forcing them to walk with him.

“We were all unarmed and were worried that he might not be alone,” another agent said.

This prompted dela Cruz, himself a lawyer, to try to stop Gilbert, to which he allegedly reacted by attacking dela Cruz.

The agents said this prompted them to place cuffs on Gilbert, who continued to struggle until he fell and was cuffed.

Last night, Gilbert said he will question his arrest and the manner upon which the NBI took him into custody.

“They have to say that to justify what happened. We can’t do anything about that except to remind ourselves that everyone is answerable for their own actions,” Ritchie, for his part, said.

He said Gilbert’s lawyers, Ernesto Rama and Bragat, will file the necessary pleadings to have Gilbert released.

“We will confer as to the venue. We can file directly before the Supreme Court (SC),” he said.

Ritchie, speaking to Macabare before the agents arrived with Gilbert, argued that the malversation case, with which Gilbert was convicted by the 4th Division of the anti-graft court on Oct. 8, 2001, is on appeal with the SC.

He said Gilbert surrendered voluntarily and then moved for bail which was granted. Gilbert, he said, was subsequently released from the Quezon City jail on bail.
“He is being arrested twice for the same case,” Ritchie stressed.

In an interview with Sun.Star Cebu, Ritchie said they have also assailed the conviction through a petition for certiorari before the SC.

And while it dismissed it on technical grounds, they have filed a motion for reconsideration which the Supreme Court has not yet resolved.

“We are arguing that Gilbert was convicted for malversation but was arraigned for estafa,” he said.

But Pura, during his confrontation with Ritchie, said the warrant signed by Sandiganbayan Justice Gregory Ong remained valid.

In fact, the copy obtained upon the request of NBI Special Investigator Florante Gaoiran, was certified true and correct by Executive Clerk of Court III Joffre Gil Zapata of the Sandiganbayan’s 4th division yesterday.

Moreover, he stressed, the Supreme Court’s 3rd Division already issued a notice of entry of judgement as early as Sept. 16, 2002 which, in turn, became final and executory on Oct. 23 of the same year.

“Acting on the petition for review on certiorari of the decision dated Oct. 8, 2001 of the Sandiganbayan…. the Court resolves to deny the petition for having been filed
late,” the notice, signed by Assistant Division Clerk of Court Lucita Abjelina-Soriano, read.

“In any event, even if the petition was filed on time, it would still be denied, as it lacks affidavit and proof of service of copies thereof,” it added.

During the hearing, Maravillas reportedly contended that the money concerned never reached him as Wagas “personally took the latter from the revenue collectors or the assistant municipal treasurer.”

Wagas, on the other hand, said the money he took were all covered by a municipal council profession ordinance with a classification of Human Resource Development Intelligence Fund.

“Clearly, given the acts and omissions of both accused relative to the several cash advances subject matter in this instant case, the conspiracy to commit malversation has been established beyond reasonable doubt,” the ruling read.