FABRICATED and trumped up.
That’s how Prosecutor Mary Ann Castro and her six co-accused described the criminal charges they are facing in court for allegedly conspiring in destroying a public property and attacking operatives of the Regional Special Operations Group (RSOG) in Central Visayas last March 7.
u201dThe charges (were) made to cover up the crime of harboring a fugitive from justice,” read the joint judicial affidavit of Castro and the six other accused.
Prosecutor Simaco Labata charged Castro and her six companions with two counts of direct assault and malicious mischief cases before the Municipal Trial Court in Cities last month.
Castro allegedly led her co-accused in destroying the door of the room, where Maricel Raffinan Gregory, the rumored live-in girlfriend of her estranged husband Leodegreco Sanchez, was staying, Labata said in his four-page resolution.
When policemen tried to arrest the accused, the accused allegedly attacked the authorities and “seriously disobeyed” the police, said Labata.
Castro stepped out of detention cell after posting P34,000 bail.
Her six co-accused, however, spent the night in the Cebu City Jail after they were unable to process their bail on time.
They are Jonas Borces Niñez, 30; Leo Esquivel Suaso, 42; William Segundino Contamina, 27; Benjielito Hoyoa Lapera, 29; Gaudiosa Arivado Rodrigo, 53; and Hazel Niluag Mabuuyo, 39.
The case stemmed from the complaints filed by the police’s Regional Intelligence Division accusing Castro of direct assault, malicious mischief, grave coercion, grave oral defamation, and resistance and disobedience to persons in authority.
Likewise, six of Castro’s alleged cohorts are facing complaints of direct assault as well as disobedience and resistance to persons in authority.
In their affidavit, the respondents said they were the ones who “suffered” in the hands of the policemen.
In fact, the accused said they filed a complaint for obstruction of justice against the policemen before the military ombudsman.
Castro denied that her companion destroyed the doorknob of a room inside the police office.
She said she was forced to bite the policeman’s hand to “free myself from his hurting grip.”
She also denied harassing Gregory, whom she sued for libel, inside the police headquarters.
In the resolution, Prosecutor Labata dismissed for lack of evidence the grave oral defamation, grave coercion, and resistance and disobedience to a person in authority against the accused.
Meanwhile, Supt. Rex Derilo, chief of the Regional Intelligence Division (RID), said they respect the decision of Castro to tap the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 to investigate him and his personnel.
“We will answer her charges against us,” he told reporters yesterday.
The police official said they already expected that Castro would file several complaints against them.
Derilo said they will discuss the complaints with the legal team of the Police Regional Office 7 and plan what actions they will take against Castro.
The police official said they did not give special treatment to Castro when she confronted Gregory in RSOG 7 office in the PRO 7 headquarters last March 7. RSOG 7 is a unit under RID.
“The respect for the prosecutor was there (when she visited the RSOG 7 office),” Derilo said.
Gregory is the rumored live-in partner of the prosecutor’s estranged husband Leodegreco Sanchez. She surrendered to the police after a court issued an arrest warrant against her for libel cases.
Castro filed the complaints against Gregory after she accused the prosecutor of stealing Sanchez’s vehicle in a comment she posted on Facebook.