SAYING the grenade was planted and the search warrant is null and void, the lead counsel of San Francisco, Camotes Mayor Aly Arquillano and Vice Mayor Alfredo “Al” Arquillano Jr. will seek court recommendation to post bail for the temporary release of the brothers.
Retired judge Meinrado Paredes said they will file a motion to quash the search warrant served against the two town officials.
Paredes said the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Barili town, which issued the search warrant, has no territorial jurisdiction over the northern town of San Francisco.
“We’re going to file a motion to quash the search warrant and to suppress illegally seized evidence. We will argue. We’re going to prove that the search warrant is null and void. It was issued by a court without territorial jurisdiction over the place where the crime was supposedly or allegedly committed,” he continued.
Paredes lamented that unless there was a compelling reason, the general rule, which provides that a search warrant must be issued by the court that has territorial jurisdiction over the place where the crime was supposedly committed, still stands.
The retired judge said they will also seek court recommendation to post bail for the temporary release of the brothers.
Paredes said they will wait for the case against the two town officials to be filed in court before they submit their motion.
The officials were arrested when the Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit (PDEU) of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) served the search warrant that allowed them to raid the house of the Arquillanos in Barangay Poblacion Thursday morning, April 4
A .45 pistol, a .22 long rifle and magazine, an AR 15 rifle with an expired license, a grenade and several bullets from a .45 pistol and a 9mm pistol, among others, were seized during the operation.
The brothers are expected to be transferred from the Cebu Provincial Police Office stockade to the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center on Monday, April 8.
The filing of the information on the complaint against the two town officials at the Danao City RTC is also set on Monday.
As for the grenade seized by the police, Paredes said it was planted.
He also denied that his clients have admitted owning the firearms seized by the raiding team.
The Arquillano brothers are facing complaints for illegal possession of firearms and illegal possession of explosives.
“I asked them if it’s true that they admitted (owning the firearms), they said they did not... The grenade, it was really planted,” Paredes told reporters in a press conference at the Golden Prince Hotel in Cebu City on Sunday morning, April 7.
Mayor Aly reportedly admitted he owned the .22 rifle, but he didn’t know it was inside his house.
The mayor also denied owning the grenade that was allegedly found inside his room.
Vice Mayor Al, on the other hand, allegedly admitted owning a .45 pistol but he said he turned it over to the town treasurer when its license expired.
“They denied that they admitted owning it... I have no personal knowledge on that (if the Arquillanos are licensed firearm holders). They may have had firearms in the past, presumably, but I am not very certain about it because I was not able to interview them about that particular subject,” Paredes said.
He also questioned the timing of the operation and the presence of PDEU personnel, adding that the raid could have been done before the campaign period for local candidates started last March 29.