Ong turns over
own recording
to committies

By BEN R. ROSARIO

  The three-hour "original" of 
alleged wiretapped conversations
that allegedly evidenced wide-
spread fraud in last year's pre-
sidential, congressional & local
elections was played last night
in the House of Representatives.
  The seven tapes were formally
turned over by National Bureau 
of Investigations Director Rey-
naldo Wycoco, lawyer Alan Paguia
and Homobono Adaza, the lawyer 
of former NBI Deputy Director
Samuel Ong.
  Paguia, who turned over a su-
pposedly three-hour "original"
tapes of the alleged wiretapped
conversation, testified for over
five hours, telling the congress-
men that President Gloria Maca-
pagal Arroyo was aware of massive
poll cheating during the 2004
presidential elections as indica-
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By SHIANEE MAMANGLU

  Another premier Catholic univer-
sity pledged yesterday its support 
to the country's quest for truth 
over the controversies hounding 
the government and supported the 
call for the creation of a Truth
Commission by nonpartisan sectors.
  The Royal and Pontificial Univer-
sity of Santo Tomas (UST), in a 
statement, said the crisis faced by
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her fa-
mily needs to be resolved quickly &
effectively beause the nation is  
already divided.
  The Ateneo de Manila University
(ADMU) expressed its neutrality
over the controversies hounding the
legitimacy of the presidency and the
scandals involving President Arroyo's 
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By GENALYN D. KABILING

  Polish Prime Minister Marek
Belka makes a historic two-day
state visit in Manila today to
boost trade and security coope-
retion with the Philippines.
  Belka is the first Polish
leader to visit Manila since 
diplomatic relations were estab
lished in September 1973. His
visit also marks the first by
one of the 10 new member-coun-
tries of the European Union(EU)
considered significant in the 
context of Phillipine and EU
relations.
  The Polish leader will be a-
ccompanied by his wife, Krystyna
Belka,and a delegation of senior
officials in the visit to Manila
which comes after his tours in
Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.
  Belka will be given full mili-
tary honors upon his arrival in
Malacaņang and will later be
treated to a state banquet at 
the Rizal Ceremonial Hall in the
Palace hosted by President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo.
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By GABRIEL S. MABUTAS

  The Department of Justice
(DOJ) filed yesterday char-
ges of inciting to sedition
against former lawyer Samuel
Ong, former (NBI) deputy di-
rector, for calling on Pre-
sident Arroyo to step down
after revealing he was the 
source of the controversial
"Hello Garci" tapes.
  The DoJ filed the charges
before the Makati Metropoli-
tan Trial Court(MTC) on the
same day that State Prose-
cutor Emmanuel Velasco is-
sued a DoJ resolution to 
file charges against Ong.
  Earlier, Ong had filed 
a petition before the Manila 
Regional Trial Court (RTC)
asking it for an injunctive
relief from the DoJ investi-
gation arguing that Justice 
Secretary Raul Gonzales had
already prejudged the case
against him.
  He cited statement issued 
by Gonzalez even before a
complaint had been filed a-
gainst him that he violated
Article 142 of the Revised 
Penal Code, or the law that
penalizes acts of inciting to
sedition.
  Ong said Gonzalez's state-
ments clearly manifest the 
justice secretary's bias a-
gainst him, Ong told the RTC.
  In the DoJ resolution for 
Ong's indictment in court, 
Velasco said that Ong "is
being held liable not because  
of his exposure of (the tape)"
but because of his statements
that "the President alone 
should be held liable for the 
country's poverty and corrup-
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