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Saturday, October 30, 2004
NBI clears Arbet slay suspect for travel abroad
CEBU CITY -- Michel Favila Sr., who stands accused of killing lawyer Arbet Sta. Ana-Yongco, has applied for a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance so he can look for a job abroad.
The NBI confirmed he has no criminal record.
But Favila, a 48-year-old resident of Barangay Talaga, Cagayancillo, Palawan, said he will not leave until the Yongco murder case is resolved.
“Para sa kabutihan ng pamu-muhay, matagal ko nang pinag-iisipan yan. Hindi naman ako lalayas, dito lang ako hanggang matapos ang kaso (I have been thinking of going abroad for a long time, but I will not run away from this case),” he said.
Thelma Chiong, head of the Crusade Against Violence, pointed out that Favila cannot be allowed to walk out of NBI custody because he has already signed a waiver of detention.
Lawyer Liza Corro, one of the attorneys prosecuting the Yongco murder case, expressed surprise at the issuance of the clearance.
“How could they say that when there is a pending criminal case against him?” she said. Corro added that she will find out from NBI officials herself how the clearance was issued.
More time
After filing for an NBI clearance last Wednesday afternoon, Favila also filled up a form for a birth certificate authenticated by the National Statistics Office.
As this developed, his lawyers asked the Office of the Cebu City Prosecutor for more time to submit their evidence to answer the accusations linking him to the Oct. 11 murder of lawyer Yongco.
Favila’s lawyers raised the need to get the sworn statements of his witnesses from Cagayancillo, apart from the inspection and reproduction of evidence.
“One can only reach that municipality through pump boat, which takes 20 to 24 hours depending on the weather from Puerto Princesa to Palawan. Worse, the pump boat, which is the only means of transportation going to the place, has no regular schedule. The procurement of the statements of respondent’s witnesses alone will entail much time,” Favila’s motion read.
The defense has until Nov. 4 to submit their affidavits and other evidence. They asked for 10 days more starting Nov. 4.
Favila, an officer of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association, which parricide suspect Ruben Ecleo Jr. heads, is accused of killing Yongco in her home last Oct. 11. Yongco was the private prosecutor against Ecleo.
Clean bill
Favila is now under the protective custody of the NBI 7.
The same bureau, acting on his application, found that he has “no record on file.”
“So it means that Favila or his namesake has no criminal record. The issuance would have been delayed had his name figured in the hit list,” acting NBI 7 Chief Nelson Bartolome told reporters Friday.
Favila was arrested last July for alleged illegal possession of firearms, but the case was dismissed due to a technicality.
Now that he has an NBI clearance and is awaiting his birth certificate for a passport application, Favila hopes that his moves will not be misconstrued as an attempt to run away from the Yongco case.
Since he arrived in Cebu last week, Favila said he has been spending his time writing his life story. He has eight pages so far.
Among others, Favila said he has written about his family, his membership in the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association and his alleged involvement in the Yongco killing.
Evidence
Favila’s wife Thelma, 46, and daughter Miriam, 12, are expected to arrive in Cebu City from Cagayancillo on Monday to visit him at the NBI 7 headquarters.
Also on Monday, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) is under orders to present 10 more items of evidence in the Yongco case.
City Prosecutor Cezar Tajanlangit and Assistant City Prosecutor Oscar Capacio, in a one-page order, directed the CIDG to bring the evidence so the defense camp can inspect and reproduce them.
Among the evidence are the sworn statements of Yongco’s two housemaids, a photograph of the gunman identified by Yongco’s two maids, photographs of murder suspect Favila, photographs of the fingerprints lifted from the victim’s house, and a list of names of other suspects, among others.
“Respondent cannot intelligently and exhaustively prepare his counter-affidavit without examining or inspecting these documents and evidence,” defense lawyer Giovanni Mata said in a motion.
In a related incident, lawyer Gloria Lastimosa-Dalawampu did not only withdraw from prosecuting the case against Favila because of the harsh commentaries against her, she has also resigned as legal counsel of GMA 7 and dySS.
She said the commentaries against her aired by the TV and radio stations she is defending were too much to bear.
“Sige ra sila ug atake nya ako dili ka-atake, unfair kaayo na (They kept attacking me and I could not even answer. That’s unfair),” Dalawampu said. (GC/GN/With KNR & AIV)
(October 30, 2004 issue)
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