The lawyer of Ozamiz City Vice Mayor Nova Princess Echavez will demand her release after the police failed to file a criminal complaint against her within the prescribed period.
“Ayon sa batas, dapat i-charge mo (Under the law, you have to file charges) within 36 hours otherwise she should be set free. So we will demand that,”
Ferdinand Topacio, the vice mayor’s lawyer, told reporters at the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Topacio arrived at the DOJ expecting that Echavez and her brother Reynaldo Parojinog Jr. would undergo inquest proceedings.
An inquest is conducted when the suspect has been arrested without warrant. The suspects will be informed of the allegations against them and they will have the option to sign a waiver of detention under Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code and undergo a preliminary investigation.
Article 125 provides for the period where a suspect has to be delivered to proper judicial authorities: 12 hours for crimes or offenses punishable by light penalties, or their equivalent; 18 hours for crimes or offenses punishable by correctional penalties, or their equivalent; and 36 hours for crimes or offenses punishable by afflictive or capital penalties, or their equivalent.