Archival aide asks army to help find HPG officials

CEBU, Philippines -  Paolo Cortes, the lone survivor in the ambush that killed lawyer Noel Archival 10 months ago is asking the Armed Forces of the Philippines to find the former officials of the Highway Patrol Group – 7 who have been tagged as suspects in the case.

Senior Supt. Romualdo Iglesia, Senior Insp. Joselito Lerion, and PO1 Alex Bacani were reassigned to Camp Crame in Quezon City but they reportedly stopped reporting since December 12, 2014, said PNP HPG spokesperson Supt. Elizabeth Velasquez.

They were assigned to the Personnel Holding and Accounting Section (PHAS) of HPG in Camp Crame while the case was being investigated. 

Cortes made the request to the AFP in a letter sent on his behalf by lawyer Rameses Villagonzalo to Brig. General Arnold M. Quiapo, chief of intelligence service and Lt. General John Bonafos, AFP vice chief of staff.

“In view of the foregoing, the undersigned therefore seeks assistance in the manhunt of these fugitives by way of intelligence gathering and/or coordination for operation with the CIDG Camp Crame and NBI National Headquarters and NBI-7 of Cebu City,” the letter reads.

The Regional Trial Court in Argao, Cebu issued the warrant to arrest the HPG officials on December 11, 2014 but the warrant was not served because the three suspects were no longer in PHAS.

It was the NBI through Special Investigator III Eric Bringas of the Anti-Organized and Transnational Criminal Division-Anti-Illegal Drugs Unit (AOTCD-AIDU) that served the copy of the arrest order in Camp Crame in Quezon City.

National Bureau of Investigation-7 Director Max Salvador said earlier that the agency is now on the hunt for the three suspects.

It was NBI-7 that conducted the investigation, which led the filing of criminal cases of multiple murder and frustrated murder against the three HPG officials.

Acting Provincial Prosecutor Jesus Rodrigo Tagaan subsequently elevated the cases to court after finding probable cause.

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