Davide tells wife of crime suspect: Get own lawyer

The female village chief of Nalhub in Dalaguete town appealed to Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III for assistance after her husband was arrested with other persons in a drug raid in their area last Saturday dawn.

Nalhub barangay chairperson Riza Amandoron visited Davide at the Capitol yesterday to ask for advice from the governor, a political ally in the Liberal Party (LP) Cebu chapter.

Davide said he advised her to look for a lawyer for her husband.

“(Her husband is among the) accused. They have to get their own lawyers. We are on the side of the police,” he said.

Amandoron was accompanied by Gerson Belda, 41, and Juanito Asinho, 47, both relatives of the other suspects arrested by the provincial police.

Amandoron’s husband, Erwin, is detained with six persons in the Consolacion police precinct.

The alleged mastermind of the gang, Jojo Gañolon, is also Amandoron’s nephew.

Gañolon was killed by police in last Saturday’s shootout.

Asked about the details of the meeting, Amandoron said she merely asked the governor for advice on how to proceed with the case.

The group refused to comment further, saying they have yet to find a lawyer.

Peaceful

Davide said the province will never tolerate drug trafficking especially after he learned of reports that small-scale farmers are being harassed by criminal gangs.

He said he ordered the provincial police to investigate these reports.

Davide also commended the police for the recent operations and described it as a “notable achievement”, saying those areas will become peaceful.

Supt. Rodolfo Albotra, Cebu Provincial Intelligence Branch (PIB) chief, said the police in charge of the operations in the towns of Alcoy, Dalaguete and Boljoon are adamant that there was no rubout.

He said they are willing to stand trial if charges are filed in court.

“I am the team leader and I was in those areas. The suspects initiated the shooting and the police returned fire,” Albotra said.

Warned

“The operation in the south was well-planned with specific targets and identified locations based on the information we had,” he added.

He said Jojo Gañolon had a lot “of eyes and ears” in barangay Nalhub.

Albotra said text messages on Gañolon’s cell phone showed he was warned about the presence of police in the area.

Gañolon’s mother Rosalina said her son was willing to surrender but he was scared that he would end up dead like his brother in a shootout.

She said her son was lying on the bed when he was shot in the head and chest.

But Albotra said they gave Gañolon all the time to surrender when they arrived in the area and he didn’t turn himself in.

He also said they didn’t take any money from Gañolon’s family.

Questioning

“This might just be a strategy to discredit the police,” he told reporters.

Chief Investigator Primo Cadampog of the Commission on Human Rights in Central Visayas (CHR-7) said the agency will investigate if a complaint is filed at their office.

“They need to personally appear to our office so we can get their statements and evaluate it,” Cadampog said.

Senior Supt. Noel Gillamac, Cebu provincial police chief, said a minor who was involved with the group in the Boljoon raid, was invited for questioning and will be turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).