Vice-president and wife to attend bigamy hearing

Manila: A prosecutor in suburban Quezon City has ordered Vice President Noli de Castro and his wife, Arlene Sinsuat, to attend the first preliminary investigation in the bigamy case filed against them tomorrow.

"The couple will undergo an initial hearing for the charges of bigamy, falsification, perjury, threats, and obstruction of justice," said Assistant City Prosecutor Fabinda delos Santos.

The charges were filed by Jhoveenel Sinsuat Olor, 34, and his brother, Arjurie, 33, sons of Arlene by her first husband.

De Castro and Sinsuat were married in Cotabato City in the south on July 16, 1991, while she was still married to Juanito Olor, said Sinsuat's two sons.

Sinsuat's first marriage to Olor in Manila on November 17, 1971, was not annulled, when Sinsuart married again in 1991, the two sons argued, adding De Castro and Sinsuat "falsified documents" by saying they were both single when they got married.

They also accused De Castro of committing perjury when he stated in his marriage certificate that his religion was "Islam," when he was a known Catholic.

They said they learned about their mother's marriage with De Castro after it was published in some local newspapers in 1998.

"The Vice President's camp is ready to face the charges," said Maricris Pahate, De Castro's lawyer.

"We welcome this opportunity to clear the name of the vice-president and his wife of these false charges.

"This is part of due process," Pahate said, adding that only lawyers will attend Wednesday's preliminary investigation.

Earlier, De Castro said the case was a "demolition job".