Saturday, December 15, 2007 Court orders arrest of Abu teen who skipped hearing
THE alleged Abu Sayyaf member who was caught with explosives on board a Manila-bound ship has jumped bail.
Noy (real name withheld for being a minor) did not show up yesterday for the hearing of his case prompting Regional Trial Court Branch 14 Judge Rafael Yrastorza Sr. to issue a warrant for his arrest.
The judge also reinstated the original bail of P200,000 for Noy once he is arrested.
Noy was taken into custody last Aug. 22 on his way to Manila from Cotabato City on board Superferry 5, which made a stop in Cebu City.
A sack of bananas containing a 90mm recoilless rifle projectile and an M76 rifle grenade was traced to him.
He is out on a P100,000 bail and was last seen during the pre-trial of his case last Sept. 21.
Judge Yrastorza said that once Noy is captured, the court will then hear the motion of Cebu City Prosecutor Rodulph Joseph Carillo on Noy’s age.
Carillo earlier argued that that a birth certificate of the accused from the National Statistics Office indicates that he was born on June 15, 1988. This is contrary to the document he showed upon his arrest, which states that he was born on June 15, 1990.
“Therefore, he was already 19 years old at the time he committed the crime,” read Carillo’s motion.
Spectators also noted that no lawyer entered his appearance as Noy’s counsel.
Lawyers Maria Dolores Unchuan, Jean Marie Vecina and Rodolfo Acido who earlier represented Noy filed a motion to withdraw from the case upon Noy’s request.
“The accused has expressed his desire to engage the services of another counsel who is from his residence, Cotabato City, so that there would be no more language barrier between him and his counsel,” read the motion filed by the lawyers last Oct. 26. (KNT)
