Casiño charged with obstruction of justice

ORMOC CITY – Police filed charges of obstruction of justice against Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño yesterday over the military’s arrest of a suspected communist rebel leader in his company last Monday.

Officials said Casiño has been charged for allegedly attempting to prevent the arrest of Vincent Borja, a suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebel leader.

Police have also included in the charges Teodoro Dacera, the owner of the house where Borja was arrested by the military while meeting with Casiño.

The Army’s 19th Infantry Battalion commander Lt. Col. Lope Dagoy said Casiño and Dacera tried to intervene when military intelligence agents were serving the warrant of arrest on Borja.

Casiño had claimed Borja is a campaign supporter and a local member of party-list group Anakpawis, a group critical of the Arroyo administration.

Casiño pointed out the warrant the soldiers tried to serve had been "defective" since it did not specifically name Borja but only contained aliases. The lawmaker also said the arrest was illegal since the warrant was served by soldiers instead of the police.

The military claimed Borja is a member of the Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee of the NPA and is tasked with securing financial and logistics support for guerrilla fighters.

The military said Borja is charged with two counts of murder aside from rebellion and destruction to property.

Dagoy said they have witnesses identifying Borja as a ranking NPA leader using several aliases.

According to Dagoy, he was trying to explain why Borja is being arrested when Casiño blurted out the arrest is illegal.

"Mali yung warrant mo, iba ang pangalan na nakalagay diyan, hindi iyan ang pangalan ng tao ko (the warrant is defective, it named a different person, that is not the name of my supporter)," Dagoy quoted the militant lawmaker as saying.

Dagoy said he explained to Casiño that they are merely effecting a lawful order but the militant lawmaker shouted and accused the soldiers of being "puppets" of President Arroyo.

To clarify the issue, Dagoy said he ordered his men to bring Borja before the Ormoc City Police for booking.

Instead, Casiño and Dacera struggled with the soldiers in trying to prevent Borja from being arrested, Dagoy claimed. – With Jaime Laude, Sheila Francisco, Denise Limson