Highway patrol troopers charged with murder before prosecutors’ office

The highway patrol troopers tagged in the killing of lawyer Noel Archival were highly motivated to kill him. They were within the vicinity of the crime scene on the day he was attacked on Feb. 18 and used the vehicles that were linked to the case.

This in essence was the narration of the findings of police and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) tasked to probe the infamous Feb. 18 murder of the noted Cebuano lawyer with a boxful of documents presented yesterday before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutors Office.

“The motive behind the killing of Atty. Noel Archival is very strong. He filed at least 15 cases against the HPG-7 officers in behalf of his clients,” NBI-7 supervising agent Jose Ermie Monsanto said after the complaint was formally received by the prosecutors’ office.

Monsanto was accompanied by NBI supervising agent Rennan Augustus Oliva.
Archival’s younger brother, Nelson, was also present.

They were escorted by NBI agents armed with automatic weapons and strapped with bullet proof vests throughout the proceedings.

The NBI filed a complaint for multiple murder and frustrated murder against five policemen, including the regional chief of the PNP Highway Patrol Group (HPG), as well as several “John Does”.

Senior Supt. Romualdo Iglesia, HPG-7 director; Senior Supt. Joselito Lerion; Chief Insp. Eduardo Mara, SPO4 Edwin Galan, and PO1 Alex Bacani were named respondents in the complaint filed before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutors’ Office.

They will also be separately charged with violating the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and grave misconduct before the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas.

Insp. Mara said they will answer the allegations. “Let’s see what evidence they have against us,” he told Cebu Daily News.

Standing dispute

The NBI investigators said a standing dispute between Archival and the policemen is believed to be the motive behind the killing.

Archival had filed a string of complaints against the policemen whom he accused of extorting money from his clients, Jane Catherine Go and Chris Reinz who were charged by the HPG for violating the anti-fencing law, “carnapping”, and illegal transfer of vehicle license plate numbers.

NBI’s Monsanto added that Archival and a group of policemen led by Supt. Lerion “almost came into blows” last October after he had the alleged extortion attempt recorded in the police blotter of the Mabolo Police Station in Cebu City.

Monsanto said Archival accused Lerion’s group of extorting P200,000 from his client.
A document of the case was found inside the red Toyota Vios sedan which was found parked off the HPG-7 headquarters in Sudlon, barangay Lahug in Cebu City last March 20.

The document was a photocopy of a “Motion For Extension To File Counter-Affidavit” from the Noel D. Archival and Associates law office which was filed before the Cebu City Prosecutors’ Office on Dec. 16, 2013 and was kept inside the driver’s glove compartment.

Senior Insp. Lerion – one of the suspects – was among those furnished a copy of the document.
Lawyer Dexterus John Ypanto, an associate in Archival’s firm who signed the pleading, said the slain lawyer was the counsel of Go and Reinz.

Go was flagged down by HPG operatives while driving a Nissan X-trail SUV in barangay Mabolo, Cebu City last Oct. 10. She was told that her vehicle registration had expired and that its chassis and engine number were purportedly tampered. Reinz, the registered owner of the vehicle, was impleaded in the case.

Go, in turn, accused a certain SPO1 Aldrin Gulingan of the HPG of demanding P200,000 cash from her in exchange for the car’s release.

Lerion in a CDN report dated Oct. 24, 2013 defended Gulingan, saying no extortion ever happened.

Death threats

The NBI also learned that several days before he was waylaid, Archival told his friends and relatives that he had received death threats from HPG-7 operatives.

NBI-7 supervising agent Oliva, who along with Monsanto led the investigation, said they are asking the anti-graft office to issue a preventive suspension order against the respondents.

“We’re not just after the filing of charges against the respondents. What we aimed for here is the conviction of all those responsible in the slay of Atty. Archival,” he said.

Mara and Galan were impleaded in the case because they neither “lifted a finger nor objected to stop the in and out of questionable vehicles” at the HPG impounding area which is under their supervision.

On the other hand, Bacani was also included in the case because he was the one who allegedly brought the gray Mitsubishi Strada, one of the vehicles believed to be used in the ambush—to a garage to be repaired or altered after the crime.

Bacani was also seen bringing the policemen to Dumanjug town for a courtesy call with Mayor Nelson Garcia hours after Archival was slain.

The NBI said it proved that HPG-7 personnel were within the radius of 30 to 40 kilometers after the ambush.

WHEELS OF Justice

Archival’s younger brother, Nelson, was elated with the development.

“Our family is very happy. At least, the wheels of justice have began to move. We’re hoping that justice will be served for my brother’s death,” he told reporters.

Nelson, who was present during the filing of the charges yesterday, said he believed that the NBI and the police task force were able to identify the right persons who should be held liable for killing his brother.

“Based on the evidence presented, I will make it very clear that our family is 101 percent sure that the investigators are on the right track in identifying the perpetrators,” he said.

Once the charges are elevated in court, Nelson said they will request that the hearings be made in Cebu City instead of the trial court in Argao which has jurisdiction over crimes that happened in Dalaguete.

“For security purposes, we want the hearings to be made in Cebu City. We have a tough opponent in this case. They are very influential,” he said.

Inhibit

Lawyer Inocencio dela Cerna, the counsel of the respondents, said he will request the Cebu Provincial Prosecutors’ Office as well as other prosecution offices in Cebu to inhibit from handling the case.

Dela Cerna told CDN that the case against Archival has been well-publicized in Cebu and considering that his clients were already judged guilty by the public, prosecutors will likely indict the respondents.

He said he wants the Department of Justice to send over prosecutors to conduct the preliminary investigation against his clients.

“It is good that finally they have the cases. At least, the respondents can now submit their counter-affidavits. The looks of it, the NBI only has circumstantial evidence. Nevertheless, my clients will now have the chance to prove their innocence in the proper forum,” Dela Cerna said.

Archival, along with his companions Candido Miñoza, Alejandro Jaime, and Paolo Cortes were ambushed inside their vehicle while traversing the national road in Dalaguete town, south Cebu in the afternoon of Feb. 18, 2014.

Only Cortes, Archival’s aide, survived the attack.

Based on the investigation, the perpetrators used two vehicles—a red Toyota Vios and a gray Mitsubishi Strada—in attacking Archival and his companions.

In his affidavit, Cortes said he noticed a red car which overtook their vehicle before they reached the Dalaguete Municipal Hall. He said the car with plate number GSR-995 won’t allow them to take over.

“I will never forget that car. We’re tailing that red car for some time because the driver of that vehicle won’t allow us to overtake. I even told Alejandro, our driver, never mind overtaking that car,” Cortes said in Cebuano.

When they reached the road in barangay Coro, Dalaguete, he said the red Toyota Vios suddenly blocked their way, prompting them to stop.

He said a gray Mitsubushi Strada then came from behind their vehicle, drove alongside them, and fired several shots at their vehicle.

The men inside the red Toyota Vios also fired at them, he said.

“I saw one person inside the gray Mitsubishi Strada. But he was wearing a bonnet, a baseball cap, and round sunglasses,” said Cortes who sustained a gunshot wound in the left arm.

Forensic examination showed that empty shells were fired from two 5.56 caliber and two 9 mm firearms, indicating that four or more persons participated in the ambush.

Metallic sticker

CCTV camera footage showed that the red Toyota Vios used in the ambush had a distinctive metallic colored sticker placed on the gas tank cover of the vehicle as well as a white object on top of the car’s backboard.

In the course of the investigation, the NBI received an information that the red Toyota Vios with plate number GSR 995 was seen inside the impounding area of the HPG in Sudlon, barangay Lahug, Cebu City. The agents verified the report and found out that there were two red Toyota Vios inside the HPG impounding area. One with the plate number GSC-675 while the other one has a plate number GSR-995. They also found two gray Mitsubishi Strada vehicles with plate number ZEZ-932 and NVO-543.

When the NBI verified with the Land Transportation Office in the cities of Talisay and Cebu, they found out that the GSC-675 was originally issued in 2003 for a Suzuki multicab owned by Charito Sanoza of Biliran while GSR-995 was issued in 2003 for a Honda CRV owned by Celestina Chavez of Camputhaw, Cebu City. Both vehicles were listed as “active” by the LTO. Plate number NVO-543, on the other hand, was issued to another Mitsubishi Strada owned by Mary Ann Alfaro of Bulacan.

When the NBI reviewed the logbook of the security guards at the HPG impounding area, they found out that the red Toyota Vios with plate number GSR-995 went out and was driven by Lerion at 9:42 a.m. on Feb. 18, 2014—four hours before Archival and his companions were ambushed.

The same car, still driven by Lerion, went back to the HPG impounding area at 3:38 p.m. as shown on the logbook.

The same logbook showed that a gray Mitsubishi Strada with plate number ZEZ 932 left the HPG impounding area at 3:36 a.m. on Feb. 17, 2014. It was not mentioned who drove the vehicle.

At 4:22 p.m on Feb. 18, the gray Mitsubishi Strada with plate number NVD 549 came back to the HPG compound. It was driven by Iglesia.

On Feb. 24, 2014, at around 9:35 a.m. the gray Mitsubishi Strada with plate number NVO 543 entered Off Road Motorshop in barangay Maguikay, Mandaue City for repairs. The vehicle was hastily taken out of the shop by Bacani.

During the surveillance, the NBI said the HPG-7 personnel were interchanging and using different plate numbers for other vehicles.

A certification issued by Insp. Saturnino Sedigo of the HPG investigating section revealed that the Toyota Vios with plate number GSC-675 is an impounded vehicle.

Armed with a search warrant issued by the court, the agents went to the HPG impounding area last month.

But they only found the red Toyota Vios. The gray Strada was no longer there.

A guard executed an affidavit that the gray pick up was brought out of the compound and that a Tagalog-speaking man told him to no longer record its exit on the logbook.

A forensic examination conducted by the NBI on the red Toyota Vios revealed the presence of gunpowder nitrates residues on the front right window as well as the rear back window and the carpet.

A bullet shell casing found beneath the back seat also matched the empty shells found in the crime scene.

The forensic examination also showed the presence of adhesive materials on the gas tank cover of the car, indicating that a sticker was earlier attached to it. /with a report from correspodent Michelle Joy L. Padayhag

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