PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde said on Monday, September 2, that the PNP will exhaust all legal remedies in the wake of a court order allowing former Daraga, Albay mayor to post bail.
Former mayor Carlwyn Baldo was charged with murder over the killing of Ako Bicol party-list representative Rodel Batocabe in December 2018.
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“Una we will confer that to the OSG (Office of the Solicitor General). We will be asking their assistance kung ano ang puwede natin gawin although we cannot do anything about it because it's a court order but we have an officer especially from CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) na puwede kaming makipag-coordinate sa OSG dito kung ano ang magandang gawin,” he said.
“Hindi naman. I think that's part of our duties and mandate. Kung ano ang appreciation ng korte we will always respect that. Kung ano appreciation nila wala tayong magagawa. If they think na medyo hindi strong ‘yung ebidensya that warrants for his bail then we will respect the decision of the court but then again meron pa naman tayong mga legal remedies dyan. We will exhaust all legal remedies here,” he added.
Baldo was accused of being the mastermind in the killing of Batocabe and his aide on December 22, 2018 in Daraga town in Albay.
He was implicated by six suspects who admitted involvement in the crime and said they were paid by Baldo to kill Batocabe.
The court, however, granted his petition for bail after the prosecution failed to present enough evidence. Bail was set at P3 million for each count of murder charges.
The court noted Baldo’s absence from the scene during the killing as well as the empty shells which were found at the scene that did not match the firearms recovered in Baldo’s residence during a raid on January 22, 2019. (SunStar Philippines)