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Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Witnesses v. Ecleo to leave CIDG headquarters
The six witnesses in the Ruben Ecleo Jr. parricide case will be moved out of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) headquarters in Camp Sotero Cabahug as planned.
Regional State Prosecutor Antonio Arellano is not opposing the move, adding that based on a March 29 letter signed by Chief Insp. Rex Derilo, the CIDG operations chief, the witnesses were the ones who requested for it.
Some witnesses, Arellano said, want to return to their old homes and rebuild their lives. Others have found new places to stay. The location is confidential.
“Even before, they’ve been hinting that they want to go back to normal life. We understand that. A witness’ life is very restrictive. It is almost like being in jail,” he said.
Voluntary
Being in protective custody is voluntary.
“If the witnesses want to leave, we cannot stop them from doing so, even if we wanted to. The program is voluntary. The witnesses are viewed as having volunteered to help prosecute a case as a civic duty,” Arellano explained.
The CIDG, Arellano reasoned, has also submitted a threat assessment report that cleared the witnesses for a phased transfer.
“They (the CIDG) are in the best position to assess the situation. So, we listen to them,” Arellano said.
He said the new CIDG 7 chief, Senior Supt. Jose Jorge Corpuz, has also assured witnesses they will still enjoy police protection even if they are no longer quartered in the camp.
“Corpuz also assured us that the transition would be such that the CIDG will continue to provide security and that they would be upon hearing distance. This is assuring enough for us to agree that they can transfer,” he said.
More personnel
Still, the Witness Protection Security and Benefits Program—Arellano is program implementor for Central Visayas—will keep the witnesses under its coverage.
Corpuz announced the move earlier.
With the designation of the CIDG as the lead agency in the nationwide campaign against illegal gambling, Corpuz said more personnel will be detailed in the regional offices, including Central Visayas.
The presence of the witnesses and their families, he said, leaves no room for the incoming personnel for CIDG 7. Some 30 prosecution witnesses call the CIDG compound their home.
Other than the Ecleo witnesses, those under the custody of CIDG 7 include witnesses for the murders of Hindang, Leyte mayor Roy Jumao-as and lawyer Arbet Sta. Ana-Yongco. (KNR)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (April 4, 2006 issue)
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