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Wednesday, January 28, 2003
Controversial cop rapped on warrant
CEBU -- Controversial policeman Perfecto "Roy" Codiņera and three others will face criminal charges for maliciously securing the search warrant used in the arrest of suspected drug trafficker Giovannie "Nanan" Gimenez.
Codiņera, SPO2 Ronilo Nabua, SPO2 Fernando Velarde and PO3 Richard Valencia got some relief, though, as the military anti-graft office dismissed the more serious charge of receiving bribe from the suspected Hong Kong Triad drug courier. (Codiņera has retired from service).
In a six-page resolution signed by Overall Deputy Ombudsman Margarito Gervacio, the military anti-graft office ruled that the four policemen be charged for violating Article 129 of the Revised Penal Code.
The provision guards against maliciously obtaining search warrants from courts and is a crime cognizable by the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC).
The Office of the Cebu City Prosecutor is expected to file the information
against the policemen before the MTCC within the week.
As for the bribery charge, the Office of the Ombudsman-Military merely ruled that "the evidence on record (is) insufficient to hold respondents probably liable thereof."
It did not discuss the matter further.
The Ombudsman-Military only said that an administrative docket cannot even be opened since the PNP is already initiating administrative proceedings against them.
Bribery
The Gimenez case raised allegations of bribery and cover-ups which implicated Regional Trial Court Judge Ildefonso Suerte, Assistant Cebu City Prosecutor Mary Ann Castro, defense lawyer Pedro Leslie Salva and private lawyer Gines Abellana.
The bribery accusations were linked to the splitting of the volume of the seized shabu so the suspects could post bail and the attempt of the policemen to change their affidavits.
Gimenez was arrested, together with his younger brother Jovan and driver Victor Ceniza, after a raid on his Starex van last Sept. 7, 2001.
The search, which was carried out by the defunct detective bureau, was done through a search warrant that the said policemen obtained from Judge Suerte's court in Barili, Cebu.
The raid yielded over 300 grams of shabu, a crime punishable by death, and became controversial when Codiņera alleged that Gimenez offered him a P100,000 bribe for his release.
The case became murkier when Suerte, on Oct. 2, 2001, issued an order quashing the warrant and declaring the search as invalid and the evidences obtained as inadmissible.
Suerte had said SPO2 Nabua, during a hearing called for the quashal of the warrant, testified that they searched areas and places not covered by the warrant.
A motion for reconsideration was filed against the quashal order, which if enforced would have nullified the case against Gimenez. City Prosecutor Jose Pedrosa questioned Suerte's lack of jurisdiction and why his office was not asked to attend the hearing called for the quashal.
The military ombudsman resolution, penned by prosecutor Luis Aquino, ruled: "The respondents (did) not have personal knowledge of the particular description of the place to be searched.... They procured search warrant 480 in a court without the required jurisdiction. They did not actually conduct the surveillance they claimed to have done."
Implicated
Allegations of bribery, with money ranging from P100,000 to P3 million then came up, tending to explain why Nabua admitted in open court that they searched areas and places not covered in the warrant when, in fact, the Starex van where the shabu was found was mentioned in the warrant.
The bribery charge implicated Suerte, who was criticized for having issued the warrant despite knowing that it was going to be served in Cebu City, and for ruling to grant the quashal without ordering the Office of the Cebu City Prosecutor to appear for the hearing.
Suerte denied all charges and was subsequently cleared by the Supreme Court. His participation in the controversy was no longer discussed in the Ombudsman-Military resolution, though it affirmed that the judge did not have jurisdiction when he issued the warrant.
Former Cebu City Police Office chief Hiram Benatiro was also subsequently cleared after the anti-graft office ruled that Cebu Daily News reporter Tonton Antogop's story that linked him to the bribery was "hearsay" and "without basis."
The bribery allegation was bolstered when Assistant City Prosecutor Vidal Gella came forward last Oct. 6 to reveal that Valencia, Velarde and Nabua, during his inquest of the drug case against Gimenez, visited his office and tried to replace the affidavit they originally filed with a new one.
The original affidavit stated that all 300 grams of shabu were found in one pack at the back of Gimenez's van.
The new one stated that the shabu was found in different packs and taken from the individual possession of Gimenez, his brother and his driver.
While the volume of the shabu did not change, the statement that the shabu was found in the individual possession of the three men would save Gimenez from the death penalty and allow all three of them to post bail.
He said the policemen pleaded that they be allowed to switch affidavits and when he continued to refuse, Codiņera called up and pleaded as well.
The anti-graft office then stepped in to investigate the matter and resolved to charge the four, including Supt. Marciano del Mar, for maliciously securing the warrant of arrest against Gimenez and for bribery.
On allegations the police tried to mess up the case by reducing the volume of the seized shabu, Ombudsman Director Virginia Palanca-Santiago found enough basis to proceed with an administrative investigation, but not a criminal charge.
She had explained that since Gella did not allow the switch in the affidavits to happen, no damage was done.
"For a criminal case for violations of Republic Act 3019 (the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), injury and damage must be present," she said in an interview.
She said the office can open an administrative docket, but revealed that there is no more need for one since PNP is already investigating the matter. (Sun.Star Cebu) |
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