NBI-7 hints having state witness in Archival slay
Will one of the accused in the Archival case turn state witness?
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) says ’yes’, while the suspects’ lawyer says ‘no’.
NBI-7 Director Max Salvador hinted yesterday that it’s possible one of the four policemen implicated in the ambush-slay of lawyer Noel Archival and his two companions will testify for the government.
“Baka may mag-state witness. (Maybe, we’ll have a state witness),” he said.
He did not elaborate, except to add that the NBI welcomes a potential state witness to reinforce the case against the rest of the suspects.
Last Thursday, NBI officials disclosed the names of four policemen whom they believed were responsible for the fatal shooting of Archival and his two companions last Feb. 18 in Dalaguete.
The suspects are top-ranking officials of the Highway Patrol Group (HPG), including its regional director, Supt. Romualdo Iglesia. The rest are Senior Insp. Eduardo Mara, HPG-7 deputy regional chief; Senior Insp. Joselito Lerion; HPG-7 special operations team head and SPO4 Edwin Galan, HPG-7 chief clerk.
Their lawyer, who requested not to be named until he can arrange everything regarding the case, is not amenable to having one of his clients implicate the others.
The lawyer said he can prove the innocence of the four policemen linked to the killing of Archival and his aides Alejandro Jaime and Candido Miñoza,
“Hastang lig-ona sa among mga ebidensya. (We got very strong evidence in favor of my clients). Everybody can account where they were (when the crime happened),” he said.
On reports that Iglesia and Lerion flew out of the country last Saturday, the lawyer said, “I will not confirm nor deny it.”
He declined to say anything more as he will hold a press conference anytime today.
Prosecutor Llena Ipong-Avila, regional implementor of the Department of Justice’s Witness Protection Program (WPP), said only suspects who had committed a “lesser degree of participation” in the crime are allowed by the court to become a state witness.
Avila said they are hoping that one of the four accused in the killing of Archival and companions will turn the tables against the other suspects.
“We really welcome that especially if his testimony is material to the case. There are instances that suspects want to be a state witness because they believe they have a difficult case and that they will likely be convicted of a crime,” she told CDN.
Avila said the DOJ will secure any of the four policemen who wants to become a state witness in the case.
The NBI-7 was able to identify the suspects after two vehicles used in attacking Archival and companions were captured by closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs) installed at the Dalaguete Municipal Hall.
The plate numbers of the two vehicles, which passed by the municipal hall about three minutes before the ambush, were enhanced by the NBI, prompting investigators to check with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) as to the background of the red Toyota Vios and the gray Mitsubishi Strada.
The NBI-7 found the two vehicles inside the HPG impounding compound in barangay Sudlon, Cebu City. But when they served the search warrant, the agents found only the red Toyota Vios with plate number GSC 675.
Inside the car were some documents which include a photocopy of a “Motion For Extension to File Counter-Affidavit” from the Noel D. Archival and Associates law firm.
NBI-7 supervising agent Rennan Augustus Oliva said the gray Mitsubishi Strada was purposely brought out of the impounding area sometime before they searched the place.
“It was driven out of the HPG impounding area. The security guard was told to no longer record it on their logbook,” Oliva said.
Aside from the CCTV footage, the NBI was also able to establish through a security logbook that the red Toyota Vios and a gray Mitsubishi Strada went out of the HPG impounding area hours before Archival and his companions were ambushed in Dalaguete town, south Cebu.
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