Warrant of arrest out for Mandaue City dad

Cebu - The Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) branch 3 of Cagayan de Oro City has issued a warrant of arrest against Mandaue City Council majority floor leader Victor Biaño for falsification of public document.

The warrant of arrest, which was mailed to the Mandaue City Police Office and received yesterday, was signed by Judge Romualdo Galarrita.

The judge ordered any officer of the law to arrest Biaño, whose address is at No. 192 Rizal St., Ibabao, Mandaue City.

Galarrita also set the bail at P12,000 for Biaño’s temporary liberty.

Upon receiving the copy of the warrant of arrest at 3:05 p.m., PO3 Rogelio Travero, the warrant server of MCPO together with two other policemen from Police Station 1 immediately served it at Biaño’s office at the Sangguniang Panglunsod, but the councilor was not around and his staff could not also ascertain his whereabouts.

The police then proceeded to Biaño’s law office at the back of the City Hall, but a staff in his office told the policemen that he left for Cagayan de Oro last Tuesday night and will be back at Cebu today.

However, during an interview with Biaño yesterday he said that the warrant of arrest served to him at City Hall yesterday is already “worthless” as he has already posted bail last Wednesday morning in the court that ordered for his arrest.

Biaño said that he already anticipated the warrant.

In fact he was even informed by a staff of the MTCC branch 3, that minutes before he arrived in court last Wednesday a certain Insp. Sucalit of the Police Regional Office in Cagayan de Oro City was already waiting for him and was ready to arrest him after getting hold of his warrant.

Biaño once again said that he believes the case filed against him is politically motivated by the camp of Mayor Jonas Cortes, because he is a vocal critic of the administration.

“I won’t allow myself to be locked up by them and I don’t see myself being detained just like what they did to Dr. Paulus Cañete,” Biaño said.

He said that he will be calling a press conference today to answer all questions pertaining to the matter.

The warrant of arrest came after city Prosecutor Fidel Macauyag of Cagayan de Oro elevated the complaint filed by Grace Flores to a formal case of Falsification of Public Documents against Biaño.

The case information which was attached to the warrant of arrest states that On February 19, 2001, Biaño who was then a private person, has willfully, unlawfully and feloniously falsified the certificate of live birth of his daughter by forging the signature of Grace Flores, midwife of Ellen Gumera, the wife of the accused.

Although the date of birth of the child was accurate as she was born January 23, 2001, it was however stated in the certificate of live birth that she was born in No. 11 Antonio Luna Street, Cagayan de Oro City where in truth the child was born in Lapu-Lapu City and that the date of marriage of the accused and his wife was made to appear to be on September 28, 1984 when in truth they got married in February 22, 2005.

With such information, the prosecutors then ruled that the accused has falsified and deceived Grace Flores and the local civil registrar of Cagayan de Oro City and recommended that a case for falsification of public document be filed.

Flores came across the certificate of live birth of Biaño’s daughter in November 2007 after the respondent submitted it before RTC branch 28 in Mandaue City for his defense in a case filed by his paramour for a violation of R.A 9262 or the Act Defining Violence Against Women and Their Children.

Flores also went to the Mandaue City Hall yesterday to seek the assistance of lawyer Rod Francis Bagaslao, who was visiting city administrator Briccio Boholst.

Flores sought the assistance of Bagaslao after she was allegedly threatened by Biaño’s wife through a call on her cellular phone last week telling her that they will also file counter charges against her. — Flor Z. Perolina/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)