‘Keep that assassin alive’

A lawyer for the family of slain Young Officers Union (YOU) spokesman Baron Alexander Cervantes questioned yesterday the motives behind an attempt to have his alleged assassin transferred from his Camp Crame detention cell to the Las Piñas City jail.

Lawyer Leonardo de Vera said the suspect, ex-Marine Sergeant Joseph Mostrales, "should be kept alive" so that the alleged mastermind can be convicted.

He said Mostrales and co-accused Jaime Centeno and Erlindo Torres would be much safer at the Presidential Anti-Crime Emergency Response detention cell than the city jail.

"Sa dami ng nakakulong doon, puwede na lang siyang banatan basta," De Vera said.

In their affidavits, the suspects named Superintendent Rafael Cardeño as the brains behind the assassination.

Cardeño and cohort Santiago Camacho are being hunted down. A P1-million reward has been offered for any information leading to the arrest of the fugitives.

At a press conference yesterday, De Vera said despite the affidavits naming Cardeño as the mastermind, it was still vital that the three detained men be kept alive so they can testify against him in court.

"An affidavit is a scrap of paper unless testified to by a living person in court," he said.

Mostrales had admitted to being the gunman but recanted during the pre-trial held at the sala of Judge Bonifacio Sanz Maceda.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Mostrales’ new lawyer, Edgardo Era, filed a motion to transfer his client from the PACER (formerly NAKTAF) detention cell at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters either to the city jail or the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) detention cell.

Era told the court that last Dec. 10, PACER agents tried to get Mostrales out of his detention cell on the premise that there was a court hearing.

Mostrales knew there was none and refused to leave his detention cell.

For his part, De Vera said Era’s motion was not accompanied by an affidavit from Mostrales. A formal hearing would be held next Wednesday on Era’s motion.

De Vera said he strongly believes Cardeño would surrender only after Mostrales, Centeno, and Torres are liquidated so that there would be no more case against him.

Yesterday, Cervantes’ parents, Roque and Carol and brother Lloyd, distributed "wanted" flyers outside a hotel along Roxas Boulevard.

Cervantes was shot dead last Dec. 31, 2001 in front of a drugstore along the Alabang-Zapote Road in Las Piñas.

Meanwhile, Task Force Cervantes commander, Chief Superintendent Romeo Maganto, acknowledged that the fugitive police official is enjoying protection, which explains "why he remains so elusive."

He said Cardeño is no "ordinary criminal or wanted man" who can easily be arrested.

"He has many supporters and sympathizers," he said.

Maganto said Cardeño should be officially put on AWOL (Absence Without Leave) by the PNP since he has been hiding for more than a year now.

He pointed out that one is usually considered AWOL after 30 days.