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Saturday, October 01, 2005
Court upholds arrest of robbery suspect
The arrest of a suspect in the Land Bank robbery in Bogo town is legal, so he should post bail if he wants to be released, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) said.
The Office of the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor, though, still has to grant robbery suspect Isagani Chico his right to preliminary investigation, if it wants to include him in the case now pending before the RTC in Bogo, Cebu.
RTC Judge Ireneo Gako presided during yesterday’s hearing on the habeas corpus petition lawyer Salvador Solima, Chico’s counsel, filed against Cebu Provincial PNP Chief Vicente Loot and Chief Insp. Juanito Enguerra.
Chico was arrested together with two other suspects in Masbate.
Chico, through Solima, questioned the legality of his arrest last Sept. 20. He said the absence of a court warrant linking him to the robbery of the Land Bank of the Philippines Bogo Branch last August makes the arrest void.
Warrantless
Solima had argued that without the warrant, which necessitates the filing of a case, Chico must now be released from police detention.
“If the police want to arrest him, they must first file a complaint or amend the existing one so that he could be afforded his right under preliminary investigation,” Solima said.
But Gako, in an order, said amendments to the Rules on Criminal Procedure authorize the detention because the original robbery case against accused Henry Cuerda, Joseph Ancajas and Ceferino Serbano impleaded “John Does.”
Unable to get Gako to rule otherwise, Solima backed down.
“We believe that we made our case. Even the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor interposed no objection to the release of my client pending the outcome of a preliminary investigation. The judge decided to play it safe,” Solima said in an interview.
Chico will remain under police custody as the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor conducts the proceedings that will determine if there is cause to include him in the formal case through an amendment, Solima said.
Chico was arrested in Kabungahan, Kawayan, Masbate, along with Dindo Ancero and Felix Albores.
Ancero, while in detention, confessed to the crime and hinted the involvement of Bogo Mayor Celestino “Tining” Martinez III in the incident.
Details
Martinez allegedly acted as financier, while Joel Sumabong, reportedly the mayor’s bodyguard, gave instructions for the robbery.
Cuerda has provided details about the heist to the police. He said he was the robbery group’s contact from inside the bank. Ancajas has denied any involvement.
Serbano, for his part, surrendered to the Regional Trial Court “to clear his name.”
He posted the P200,000 bail. (KNR)
(October 1, 2005 issue)
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