Archival slay suspects want investigation deferred

CEBU, Philippines - Officials of the Regional Highway Patrol Unit-7 tagged in killing lawyer Noel Archival are seeking to have the preliminary investigation on the complaints filed against them postponed.

Through their legal counsel lawyer Inocencio dela Cerna, RHPU-7 chief  Senior Superintendent Romualdo Iglesia, Senior Inspector Joselito Lerion, Chief Inspector Eduardo Mara, Senior Police Officer 4 Edwin Galan and Police Officer 1 Alex Bacani are set to file today before acting provincial prosecutor Jesus Rodrigo Tagaan a manifestation and urgent motion to hold the investigation in abeyance.

Dela Cerna told the media yesterday that considering that their motion for reconsideration before the Department of Justice is still pending for resolution, they are seeking to defer first the investigation of the case filed by the lawyer’s brother, Cebu City Councilor Nestor Archival.

The respondents, in an earlier motion, want the DOJ to think again on the court order denying their motion for change of venue of the investigation.

“Any action by this Honorable Office in the furtherance of the preliminary investigation of the above entitled case is premature and may be interpreted to be done in undue haste, disregarding the constitutional rights of the herein respondents,” the respondents claimed.

In fact, Dela Cerna said, they have not yet received an official copy of the order of Regional State Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane designating Tagaan, deputy city prosecutor of Lapu-Lapu City, as the acting Cebu provincial prosecutor to conduct the preliminary investigation.

The designation of Tagaan, according to Gubalane, was in order not to delay the resolution of the multiple murder and frustrated murder cases. Tagaan was designated to handle the investigation following the inhibition of Cebu provincial prosecutors.

But Dela Cerna said that filing the said manifestation is not to delay the proceedings, but to see to it that the rights of his clients be protected.

Meanwhile, lawyer Democrito Barcenas, one of the lawyers of the Archival family, filed a manifestation before the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor in response to the order of the panel of prosecutors’ inhibition.

In his six-page manifestation, Barcenas described the order as shocking and is putting the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor in a bad light since they inhibited from handling the complaints without legal basis.

“The decision of the panel members to inhibit themselves merely on the accusation of alleged influence of the complainant which the panel found to be purely imaginary and speculative is with due respect, utterly shocking and plainly inexplicable,” Barcenas stated.

“In effect, the panel unwittingly allowed itself, to be a willing hostage of respondents’ legal maneuver to derail the wheels of justice by presenting motions for inhibitions on grounds that are purely imaginary,” the manifestation further reads.

Barcenas added that the voluntary inhibition of all the members of  the panel violates the code of conduct for prosecutors issued by the DOJ and the doctrinal rule.

On February 18, 2014, lawyer Archival and his companions were ambushed in Barangay Coro, Dalaguete, Cebu while they were on their way to Cebu City. — (FREEMAN)