THE lawyer of the sisters who were linked by police to the Fajardo criminal group Tuesday, October 8, raised questions in the operation that led to the killing of the alleged ringleader Marvin Fajardo and two others last week.
Lawyer Rey Raagas said there are possible indications of foul play in the operation.
“The CIDG operation raises serious questions kay unsaon pagsukol nga lumpo man and ang direct assault nga warrant minor case man ug pwede mapyansahan,” Raagas said.
(The CIDG operation raises serious questions because he (Fajardo) is disabled. How can he fight back? And the warrant for direct assault is a minor case and is bailable)
Raagas came to the defense of sisters Irish and Richelle Manaig saying the two were caregivers of Fajardo and that they are paid for this job.
He said the Manaig sisters shouldn’t have been included or arrested since they are not part of the criminal group.
“Nag-alima lang sila kay Fajardo. Dili man to kalakaw kay lumpo. Daghan ug gout, dagko ug bukog sa iyang joints daw, so mao to ang isa ang nag-atiman. Ang igsoon pud dayon gisunod lang diri from Calamba kay gimingaw sa iyang igsoon,” he said.
The sisters’ mother is from Barangay Bonbon while their father is a resident of Calamba, Laguna.
Raagas said they are currently reviewing the details of the cases that Manaig sisters are facing: illegal possession of firearms, harboring a criminal in relation to obstruction of justice, and direct assault upon the agents of authorities.
He refused to give more details of the sisters’ accounts on the deadly raid, but said they are ready to face the charges.
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Northern Mindanao chief Police Colonel Raymund Liguden meanwhile refused to give a reaction on Raagas’ claims.
“The cases are already filed. Nasa Prosecutor’s Office na po, sila na ang may jurisdiction,” he added.
But in an earlier interview, however, Liguden said the sisters could be the key to link further criminal activities of the criminal group.
“Yung definite linkage nila we will establish pa, kasi piece by piece pa ang information. They are all from Calabarzon. The Fajardo group are from Tanuan City, Batangas. Ang girls are from Calamba naman so magkakalapit lang, ano ba ibig sabihin nito. Kaya lang we must be definite on how we’re going to come up with conclusions,” Liguden said in an earlier interview.