THE suspect in the killing of the former bookkeeper of Barangay 76-A Bucana last year entered a not guilty plea to the murder raps during his arraignment before the sala of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 10 on Monday.
Respondent Ramil Galabin, alias Rammil Galadin or Jao, 34, and a resident of SIR Phase 1 in Matina, pleaded not guilty to the murder charges filed against him for the killing of Jessie de Dios Nuñez. He was assisted by his legal counsel Wilmer Donaco.
The case against Galabin stemmed from the complaint filed by the victim's elder brother Romeo who based his accusations on the testimony of the victim's girlfriend Joan Mesias and former live-in partner of the victim Leonor Somoza Renegado.
Mesias, in her affidavit, said she saw the suspect shoot her boyfriend at the corner of Legaspi and San Pedro Streets last August 24. She then provided the description of the suspect for the police cartographic sketch.
It was Renegado who identified Galabin through the cartographic sketch claiming that it was the same person who works as the bodyguard of former Brgy. 76-A Bucana chief Robert Olanolan.
It was not a surprise, however, that the respondent entered a not guilty plea as he already denied the allegations that it was him who shot the victim.
Galabin earlier insisted that he was not present during the incident as he was conducting a patrol in Brgy. 76-A Bucana.
He also clarified that he is not a bodyguard of Olanolan but a member of the barangay police. RTC Branch 10 Presiding Judge Retrina Fuentes scheduled the preliminary conference for the case on July 31.