‘Surface and face trial’
“THEY can’t hide forever.”
Lawyer Democrito Barcenas yesterday advised the three policemen who were implicated in the ambush-slay of fellow lawyer Noel Archival and his two companions to surface and face the charges against them.
“Let’s get to trial. If they are really innocent, then they will be acquitted. Otherwise, they have to face the consequences of their actions,” he told reporters yesterday.
Barcenas, one of the legal counsels of the Archival family, said its not good for Senior Supt. Romualdo Iglesia, Senior Supt. Joselito Lerion, and PO1 Alex Bacani — all of the PNP Highway Patrol Group (HPG)—to continuously evade trial.
“In our criminal law, it is often said that ‘flight is an indication of guilt.’ And as a popular statement goes: ‘The innocent is as bold as a lion, but the guilty flees’,” he said.
The three policemen are facing multiple and frustrated murder charges in relation to the Archival’s killing last February 18. They were supposed to be under the custody of the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame but they were nowhere to be found when agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) served the warrant of arrest issued against them last week.
Barcenas said the prosecution is contemplating on filing administrative and criminal charges against Philippine National Police officials who, until now, have yet to produce the three policemen. “They have huge roles to play here. Since they have custody and supervision over the three policemen, they ought to present the three accused because an arrest warrant has been issued,” he said.
Unless the three policemen are arrested, Barcenas said court trial could not begin. “We have high hopes that they will soon surrender or get arrested. With technological advancies here and there, the world is getting smaller for fugitives,” he said.
Barcenas cited as example the arrest of retired Army general Jovito Palparan who went into hiding after he was indicted in connection with the 2006 abduction of the two student activists. He was arrested by the NBI last August.
“The arrest of Palparan should serve as a lesson for the three HPG policemen. Try to think of think, Palparan was a general and had a lot of contacts in the military. However, he was still arrested,” Barcenas said.
The counsel of the fugitive policemen is considering filing a petition in court to have his clients detained in a detention facility of the the regional unit of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group should they surrender or get arrested.
Inocencio dela Cerna said the lives of his clients would be at risk in case they get detained at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center since they would be exposed to detainees who were the subject of HPG operations in the past.