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Friday, October 22, 2004
3 witnesses tag Favila gunman
By Mia E. Abellana & Karlon N. Rama
Sun.Star Staff Reporters
With Garry Cabotaje
WHILE lawyers and law enforcers debated on whether he was arrested or not, at least three witnesses yesterday identified Michel Favila Sr. as the one who gunned down lawyer Arbet Sta. Ana-Yongco.
Favila now has 10 days to answer the murder charge filed against him by Task Force Arbet.
Favila was under the custody of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 7 yesterday morning but was turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for “protective custody” in the afternoon.
Spartan
While he will not be handled as a detention prisoner, newly appointed NBI 7 Chief Medardo de Lemos said Favila’s accommodations will be “spartan.” He will also be under guard most of the time.
Favila has denied killing Yongco, and stressed that his innocence is proven by the fact that he willingly presented himself to the police to clear his name.
In his memorandum seeking a preliminary investigation, he narrated how he voluntarily appeared before the NBI in Palawan to “clarify the concocted accusation” against him.
But CIDG 7 Chief Salvador Manga Jr. said the three witnesses did not hesitate and were sure Favila was the gunman.
Favila was shown to the witnesses, who were behind a one-way mirror.
Favila’s legal counsel Orlando Salatandre Jr. questioned the manner in which Favila was identified.
He said that in a police line-up, the suspect is made to appear before the witnesses along with other people who look like him.
Confident
Despite this development, Favila remained confident he will be vindicated in the end.
“Hindi naman ako gumawa ng masama. Parang walang nawala sa akin. Alam kong may darating pa (I did not do anything wrong. I know there are better things ahead and I have not suffered),” he told reporters yesterday.
He said he was never arrested, because the circumstances surrounding his “voluntary appearance” before the NBI didn’t fall under any of the circumstances where a warrantless arrest is valid.
In a separate interview, the mayor of Cagayancillo in Palawan said he could not believe that Favila could have committed murder, saying the man has no derogatory records in their town.
“For me it’s remote. I don’t know, but it seems he could not carry out such an act,” the mayor told radio dyLA yesterday morning.
Error
He, however, pointed out an error in Favila’s claim that there was a fiesta in the town last Oct. 11, the day Yongco, 38, was gunned down in her office at the corner of Alcohol and Sikatuna Sts., Cebu City.
Favila has claimed that he worked on his fishing boat in the morning of that day and then attended the coronation of the fiesta queen in Barangay Poblacion in the evening.
Favila lives with his family in Barangay Talaga, Cagayancillo, an island town about 20 hours by boat from Palawan.
The mayor, however, said the town celebrates its annual fiesta on Sept. 9-10. The coronation of the Mutya ng Cagayancillo usually takes place on Sept. 9, he added.
While lawyers debated whether Favila was considered under arrest without a warrant, the police and NBI tangled on who should have custody over the suspected gunman.
CIDG’s Manga said the city prosecutor ordered the police to turn over Favila to the NBI 7. But Manga said they will not do so.
“We will turn him over to the prosecutor’s office. They will decide where Favila should stay,” Manga said.
Disappointed
Manga also expressed his disappointment with the NBI 7 for not bringing Favila immediately to the CIDG 7 headquarters last Wednesday.
He said NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco specifically instructed them to bring Favila to the CIDG 7 upon his arrival at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport, not to the NBI 7 office.
Favila was turned over to the CIDG 7 at 9 p.m. Wednesday, after he was presented to reporters at the NBI 7 office.
Manga also took offense at a letter written by the newly installed NBI 7 regional director, de Lemos, who said the CIDG 7 could see Favila at their office and that they could bring the witnesses there for the line-up.
The letter was dated Oct. 20.
“Protocol-wise, mukhang hindi yata maganda ‘yon. They created the situation, not us,” Manga said.
The man at the center of the conflict, Favila, declined to comment on his arrest in Cebu last July.
However, his niece’s husband, Victor Lanoy, confirmed that Favila was arrested and brought firearms to protect himself from pirates who roam the sea.
‘Shocking’
While Favila earlier said he was attending a beauty contest in celebration of the town fiesta at the time of Yongco’s murder, the Cagayancillo mayor told a local radio station that their fiesta is held in September, not October as Favila earlier claimed.
Favila also declined to comment on this.
He reportedly left Cagayancillo and arrived in Puerto Princesa with the “shocking” news that he was suspected of murdering Yongco.
Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA) officers in Palawan were reportedly asked by Rep. Glenda Ecleo to look for him and inform him of the charge.
He then went to the NBI Palawan office to clear his name.
Glenda is the mother of Ruben Ecleo Jr., who is facing trial for the death of his wife Alona Bacolod-Ecleo two years ago. Yongco was the private prosecutor in Ecleo’s parricide case.
Favila said he was a fisherman and that he was worried because his family still did not know where he was.
Regret
“Walang source of communication doon. Hanggang ngayon, hindi pa nila alam na nandito na ako sa Cebu (They don’t know I’m in Cebu),” he said.
Asked if he regretted showing up at the NBI Palawan office, Favila said that if he did not show up, he would always wonder how long the police would continue to believe he was the culprit.
“Hindi ako pupunta dito kung wala akong dalang ebidensiya,” he said.
A graduate of accountancy at the Holy Trinity College, Favila ran for municipal councilor in the last elections, but lost.
He has two children, ages 15 and 12. He is the secretary of the PBMA Roxas chapter.
(October 22, 2004 issue)
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