Parties given 10 days to submit memoranda

CEBU, Philippines - The Regional Trial Court has given both parties 10 days to submit their respective memoranda containing their legal arguments on the motion to quash the search warrant issued against the members of the Highway Patrol Group-7 who were tagged in the murder of lawyer Noel Archival.

Supervising Agent Rennan Oliva of the National Bureau of Investigation said that Executive Judge Soliver Peras ordered Lawyer Gloria Lastimosa-Dalawampu, counsel for the Archival family, and the officials of HPG-7 to submit their written arguments before the motion will be submitted for resolution.

 Former HPG-7 chief, Senior Superintendent Romualdo Iglesia, Sr. Insp. Joselito Lerion, Chief Insp. Eduardo Mara, SPO4 Edwin Galan and PO1 Alex Bacani through their legal counsel, lawyer  Inocencio dela Cerna, sought to nullify the search warrant earlier issued against them after they were tagged as suspects in the ambush-slay of Archival and two of his staffers in Barangay Coro, Dalaguete last February.

The respondents wanted that the witnesses for the application of the search warrant should be presented before the court. But, the court turned down the demand.

Oliva said the witnesses will be presented in due time during the trial proper of the case.

Iglesia, Lerion, Mara, Galan, and Bacani earlier claimed that the search warrant was issued without legal basis. The warrant earlier authorized the NBI-7 and the members of the Special Task Group Archival to search the HPG-7 compound where one of the vehicles allegedly used in the ambush was recovered.

A red Toyota Vios with plate number GSC 675 was recovered during the raid.

Meanwhile, NBI-7 Director Max Salvador denied presenting before the media any cartographic sketches of the suspects. Salvador said he has no knowledge about the supposed cartographic sketches presented by Dela Cerna to the members of the media.

Dela Cerna questioned why the NBI tagged his clients as suspects when they did not match to any of the cartographic sketches of the suspects. (FREEMAN)