Perjured testimonies
Lying under oath wreaks havoc on the criminal justice system. Different reasons have been raised for perjured testimony, all of which have some basis in this country: the person who gave the perjured statement was forced to do so through various forms of pressure or threats, or given an incentive such as a financial reward or job.
Whatever the reason, lawmakers should consider raising the penalties for perjury. Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code imposes prison terms ranging from only four months and one day up to two years and four months for the offense, which can lead to injustice and permanently ruin a person’s life.
Yesterday, senators cited the need for higher penalties for perjury as they noted the recent recantations in separate cases involving former senator Leila de Lima and Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr.
De Lima has been cleared by the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court in two of three drugrelated cases after several state witnesses against her recanted their statements. Government prosecutors have lamented that the recantations should not have been given weight, since the original statements were executed many years ago and sworn to before investigators, Congress and the courts.
Meanwhile, five suspects so far in the murder of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and nine others at his home in Pamplona town on March 4 have recanted. The five claimed they were tortured by police into confessing to the massacre and linking Teves to the assassination. Their lawyers have stressed that unlike in De Lima’s case, the recantations were made early on, during preliminary investigation.
Further putting the spotlight on perjury, Peter Joemel Advincula, a.k.a. Bikoy, was convicted last week of the offense and sentenced to a prison term of three months to a year. Judge Karla Funtila Abugan of the Manila Metropolitan Trial Court’s Branch 17 found that Advincula had lied in linking human rights lawyers Chel Diokno, Erin Tañada and Theodore Te of the Free Legal Assistance Group to an alleged plot to oust Rodrigo Duterte as president.
Advincula was behind the viral “Ang Totoong Narcolist” videos in 2019 that linked Duterte and his family to the illegal drug trade. “Bikoy” later switched sides and claimed the opposition was behind the video as part of a supposed ouster plot.
The Philippine National Police filed charges before the Department of Justice for conspiracy to commit sedition against dozens of opposition personalities and Catholic Church clergy, but all except 11 were cleared during the preliminary investigation. Those cleared were led by then vice president Leni Robredo and four Catholic bishops.
Perjury makes a mockery of congressional probes and the justice system. With lawmakers now seeing the damage caused by lying under oath, they should proceed with their initiative to raise the penalties for perjury.