CIDG, NBI, WPD officers escape contempt charges

Officials of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Western Police District (WPD) escaped contempt charges for failing to nab nine lawmen charged with double murder.

Judge Rodolfo Ponferrada of Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 41 ruled that he "finds the respective comments, explanations, and/or justifications of the cited persons to be satisfactory (and) there appears to be no deliberate defiance and/or disobedience of the lawful order of the Court."

State Prosecutor Peter Ong had asked the court to cite for contempt Teresita Lampa, of the NBI warrant division; Chief Inspector Edgardo Divina, former CIDG-Manila head; Superintendent Bayani dela Rea, current CIDG-Manila chief; Inspector Virgilo Dacara, of the WPD warrant section; and Superintendent Richard Albano head of the WPD warrant section; and Superintendent Richard Albano head of the WPD-District Police Intelligence Unit (DPIU) and five of his men. The WPD-DPIU was the former unit of the accused lawmen.

The court, however, exhorted the law enforcement services to "to exercise utmost efforts to effect the arrest of the accused herein as early as possible in order not to frustrate the ends of justice."

Wanted are Senior Police Officer 4 Wilson Tibor, SPO4 Remigio Estacio, SPO3 Edgardo Abaga, SPO2 Julian Siriban, SPO2 Eduardo Ramos, PO3 Randy Dimayuga, PO3 Ronald Hernandez, PO2 Philip Malindog, and PO1 Ignacio Garlan for shooting to death two Muslim overseas Filipino workers in Quiapo late last year.

The accused are said to have gone on absence without official leave. – Jose Aravilla