3 police suspects for Archival slay still out of sight; Family, NBI appeal to PNP chief

‘SURRENDER NOW’

Halfway into the 10-day deadline for their arrest, three police suspects in the murder of lawyer Noel Archival are still out of sight.
Are they still in camp restriction in the police national headquarters in Camp Crame?

“Accused were not personally seen” there, said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) which returned the warrant of arrest to the Argao Regional Trial Court after visiting Camp Crame last Friday.

Fearing they have escaped or have been kept out of view, the victim’s brother Cebu City Councilor Nestor Archival yesterday appealed to PNP acting chief Leonardo Espina to surrender the men.

“I hope you will surrender your subordinates, namely the former chief of the Highway Patrol Group Region 7 Senior Supt. Romualdo Iglesia and his two staff, Senior Insp. Joselito Lerion and PO1 Alex Bacani, to Judge Maximo Perez in order to be true to your sworn duty that bears the slogan ‘To serve and to protect’,” he said in a press conference.

Archival said some friends and organizations are thinking of offering a cash reward to hasten their arrest, an idea he still has to check with family lawyers.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said it would conduct a manhunt for the three suspects if they are now fugitives in the 10-month old ambush-slay of Cebuano lawyer Noel Archival and his two companions.

The three suspects were charged with multiple murder and frustrated murder soon after the killling last Feb. 18, and were placed under restricted custody of their HPG unit in Camp Crame last April

“They are not allowed to get out of the camp. They were confined to barracks early on so that they can be easily located by the time their presence is needed. Now, let’s not break this rule,” said NBI 7 Regional Director Max Salvador.

Investigators believe the lawyer was killed because the CHPG in Region 7 had an axe to grind after several confrontations with Archival over allegations of police extortion involving his clients.

“It is my great belief that you (Espina) certainly do not condone or tolerate your comrades in their wrongdoing because you have good intentions to clean up the mess surrounding the police force. We can say that the only consolation we have is to see behind bars or in prison the brain and all those involved in the killing of my brother,” said Councilor Archival, reading a prepared statement.

“To Senior Supt. Iglesia and his colleagues, Lerion and Bacani, I am calling on you to surrender yourselves to the law. I ask you, what if this happened to your family? What would you do and what would you feel? Do not hide behind your uniforms and guns, and the authority that you only borrowed from the state,” he added.

Archival said some friends and organizations plan to offer reward money to hasten the arrest of the three police officers but that he still has to consult their lawyers about this.

“That would be a good idea,” he said.

We are a step closer in achieving our goal to give justice and put to jail the person behind their deaths. My brother’s life cannot be brought back. The suspects robbed the right of my nephew, nieces, and my sister-in-law to grow, learn, and live with their father and husband. We are a step closer in achieving our goal to give justice and put to jail the persons behind their deaths,” he said.

The victim’s youngest sibling, barangay Talamban Councilor Nelson Archival, went to Manila yesterday to verify with Camp Crame officials the whereabouts of the accused.

Lawyer Gloria Lastimosa-Dalawampu, one of the legal counsel of the Archival family, warned that police superiors who are protecting the accused will face consequences.

“Heads will roll. If they help these three accused escape, then they are accessories of the crime. The three accused are their responsibility. They should be held liable for these missing suspects,  she said.

Dalawampu said they will ask the court to schedule the arraignment of the three policemen even if they remain at large.

“Jurisprudence states that if military personnel are facing crime and are confined to quarters, they are deemed arrested. Hence, the court has already acquired jurisdiction over the three accused,” she said.

Another family lawyer, Democrito Barcenas, said all their efforts are useless if the three accused police officers remain free.

“Unless they are brought to the court of justice, it’s meaningless. It’s no use hiding. The world is becoming small for fugitives of justice. In the spirit of Christmas, please surrender. This is the time to prove your perceived innocence,” he said.

Another prosecution lawyer Rameses Victorius Villagonzalo, who represents the lone survivor, said they will ask PNP top officials to place the three accused on Awol (absent without official leave) status and eventually dismiss them from service.

“These three policemen are unaccounted for. They ought to be placed on AWOL status and should be dismissed from service,” he said.
Sought for comment, defense lawyer Inocencio De La Cerna Jr. said he has not spoken to his clients for the past two months and has no idea where they are.

“I’m urging my clients to be remain in the fold of the law. They have to respect and honor the order of the court,” he said.

Manila-based  lawyers  Reynaldo Lugtu and Joselito Frial  are also defending the three HPG policemen.

The Aragao RTC issued an arrest warrant for the three accused on Dec. 11.

The next day, NBI Special Investigator Eric Bringas brought the arrest warrant to Camp Crame but was unable to find them.

“Accused were not personallyseent at the above mentioned address but according to the police officer at the HPG receiving section, the subjects of the warrant are presently at the Personnel Holding and Accounting Section of the PNP Highway Patrol Group,” Bringas said in the Return of the Warrant of Arrest in court.

Last Tuesday, NBI 7 Regional Director Max Salvador wrote to the HPG  Personnel Holding and Accounting Section to verify their whereabouts.

There was no reply yet yesterday.

Noel Archival, along with his aides Candido Miñoza, Alejandro Jaime, and Paolo Cortes, were on their way back to Cebu City after attending a court hearing in Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental, when assailants peppered the lawyer’s black Ford Escape with bullets in Dalaguete town, southern Cebu last Feb. 18.

Only Cortes survived. Archival died from gunshot wounds in the head and body.

The NBI traced the getaway car to  the HPG 7 in Cebu City and secured a search warrant.  Agents recovered the red Toyota Vios which the lone survivor identified as the vehilce used in the ambush.

The other vehicle—a gray Mitsubishi Strada— was driven out of the HPG impounding area in barangay Lahug in Cebu City and disappeared.

Two months after, the NBI filed charges of multiple murder and frustrated murder against five policemen, and severl “John Does”.

Charges were dropped against two, but prosecutors indicted the unit head Iglesia, Senior Supt. Lerion and a, SPO4 Edwin Galan, and PO1 Bacani.

The five were also charged with grave misconduct and violating the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees for using impounded vehicles kept in their unit.