PRO-7 may appeal the dismissal of murder rap against Cadungog

The top official of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) expressed dismay over the dismissal of the murder and frustrated murder charges against former barangay captain and now Tejero Councilman Jessielou Cadungog.

Chief Supt. Debold Sinas, the director of PRO-7, refused to simply give up since they believed that they have strong and enough evidences against Cadungog.

“Of course (we are dismay but) we will have a case conference with all concerned to determine if we will appeal or not,” Sinas told Cebu Daily News in a text message on Saturday.

He said that by Monday, the legal officers in the Regional Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (RCIDU-7) and Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) would have appraised them on the status of the case and the next move that they would have to take.

On Friday, the panel of prosecutors from the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the murder complaint filed against the village official over the failure of the police to prove that Cadungog was involved in the killing of PO3 Eugene Calumba last July 30.

However, Cadungog’s driver William Macaslang Jr. was indicted by the same panel of prosecutors for a lower crime of homicide for shooting and killing Calumba and for attempted homicide, for firing his gun at Calumba’s motorcycle driver, Michael Banua.

In a separate interview, Supt. Edhel Pereira, the legal officer of PRO-7, told CDN that they have yet to receive an official copy of the resolution.

But Pereira said that they will definitely file motion for reconsideration for both cases.

“We have not received the resolution but if your information is correct then the available remedy right now is that we will be filing our motion for reconsideration next week,” said Pereira.

“And we will be establishing that we have all the elements (to include Cadungog in this case),” Pereira added.

As far as the PRO-7 is concerned, Pereira said they have a “very strong” case against Cadungog and Macaslang.

“And we do believe that positive identification is far more better than alibi,” said Pereira.

Safety issues

Even if he is now a free man, Cadungog said he is still concerned about his safety three weeks after he managed to escape from an alleged ambush attempt staged by Calumba.

In an interview with CDN on Friday evening, shortly after he was released from the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7), Cadungog said he planned to take a leave of absence from his work as Tejero’s number one councilor.

“But before everything else, I would like to talk to my family first because I haven’t seen them for quite a long time. And of course, to Mayor Tom (Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña),” said Cadungog.

“I will ask the DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) if I can take a leave from work after everything that happened. And I will not remain complacent,” he added.

The barangay councilor refused to divulge where he will be going for security reasons.

For his part, Osmeña vowed to stand up against ‘abusive police generals,’ as he declared anew his continued support for Cadungog, his ally in the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK).

“I intend to protect my constituents no matter how small they are versus anybody, even abusive police generals,” Osmeña added.

In a text sent to CDN, Osmeña also welcomed the plan of the police to appeal the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office decision to clear Cadungog.

“That’s a step in the right direction instead of trying to ambush us,” said Osmeña.