FINAL REPORT - Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

men at the San Carlos Seminary guarding him. The only man I had
there was Lito who is a buddy and close and long-time friend of
Doble. In fact, neither Lito nor I was armed while Doble brought
with him his 45 caliber pistol because he said he needed it to defend
himself against anyone that might be sent by Pres. Arroyo or the
First Gentleman to liquidate him because of what he did.
25. Doble and all of us were free to roam along the corridors and vicinity
of the dormitory as, in fact, we had conversations among ourselves and
sometimes with some priests at the reception area located at the corridor
of the second floor. I also did not notice any security personnel of Mayor
Binay in the area as the only other male persons I saw in the building
are Bishops Bacani, some priests and office personnel of the San Carlos
Seminary who hold office at the ground floor of the building.
26. On the night of June 12, 2005, Lito left the San Carlos Seminary.
27. Sometime around 12-1 P.M. of June 13, 2005, I was told that
Doble was fetched by Bishop Socrates Villegas from the San Carlos
Seminary upon the request of the woman claiming to be Doble’s wife
and their two children who were supposedly at the main entrance to
San Carlos Seminary.
28. I was then brought out of the seminary by Bishop Bacani and other
bishops and taken to a safe house in the south.
29. In further support of the foregoing, attached as Annexes A and B
hereto and made integral parts hereof are the affidavits of Bishop
Bacani and Marietta Santos.” (emphasis supplied)
The criminal case for serious illegal detention against Samuel Ong and Rez
Cortez was dismissed last April 20, 2006 by the Makati Regional Trial Court, where it
was filed by the Department of Justice following the charge of the PNP. In dismissing
the case, Branch 139 Presiding Judge Benjamin Pozon declared: “After personally
evaluating the [DOJ] resolution and the evidence…this court finds no probable cause for
the issuance of warrant of arrests against the accused.”
The dismissal by the Makati court signifies that police authorities had no basis
to accuse Ong of anything in the first place. To us, this confirms that the leadership
of the police authorities in this country deliberately allowed themselves, and thereby
their foot soldiers, to be used to harass Samuel Ong into silence.
Marieta Santos
We note that the testimonies under oath of Marieta Santos before the Senate
coincide with and affirm the foregoing story of Ong on very crucial points. In her said
Senate testimonies, Santos categorically --
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