THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Bacolod City arrested again Senior Police Officer 1 Joshua Barile for illegal possession of explosives at Barangay Taculing, Bacolod City on Saturday, April 13.
Lawyer Renoir Baldovino, NBI-Bacolod head, said NBI agents served an arrest warrant with no bail for violation of Section 3 (Unlawful Manufacture, Sales, Acquisition, Disposition or Possession of Explosives) of Presidential Decree 1866 against the said cop who is currently under the office of the Regional Civil Security Unit.
The arrest warrant issued by Judge Fernando Elumba of Regional Trial Court Branch 42 in the city, came after the Department of Justice (DOJ) in August 2018 recommended the filing of illegal possession of drugs and explosives charges against him after he was found guilty for five counts, for possessing three hand grenades and two vintage bombs, and one count for the possession of 9.938 grams of shabu.
Baldovino said Barile was with his family in a car when he was arrested.
The operatives followed him from his house and arrested him on the road, the NBI-Bacolod said.
He did not resist arrest, Baldovino added.
Authorities recovered from him a rifle, a .45 caliber pistol, and several ammunition.
Baldovino said Barile failed to show documents on gun ban exemption.
He will be charged for violation of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) gun ban and a separate case for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, pending verification of the recovered guns.
He is now under the custody of NBI-Bacolod.
In September 2017, the NBI-Bacolod, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) raided Barile’s house at Barangay Alijis, which resulted to a recovery of more than 50 firearms, including M16 and M4 assault rifles, four grenades, more than 1,000 assorted ammunition, and a sachet of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride). He was then charged for illegal possession of firearms, ammunition, explosives, and drugs.
However, he was released from police custody after the court granted the petition for habeas corpus filed by his wife in December last year.
The charges for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition was also dismissed for lack of probable cause.
Barile earlier clarified that the recovered items were evidence from the raids conducted by his unit, and these were placed in his house for safekeeping but the NBI maintained that he has no documents to support his claim.
In April 2018, he was arrested again for illegal possession of dangerous drugs and firearms by virtue of two arrest warrants issued in 1997 against him and four others, when he was not yet part of the PNP, but those cases were bailable.
Barile was also charged for murder for the deaths of the father and younger brother of drug suspect Ricky Serenio, which he vehemently denied.