Abra town mayor seeks bail in murder case

MANILA, Philippines - Mayor Dominic Valera of Bangued, Abra has asked a Quezon City court to allow him to post bail, saying the murder case against him is still under preliminary investigation at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“He needs to be released from police custody in order to affect a proper turnover of his administrative duties to the incoming mayor,” Valera’s lawyer, Raymund Fortun, said in a petition filed before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 219,

Fortun said the mayor is not a flight risk and is required by law to serve the remainder of his term until June 30. He is under police custody but confined at the St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) in Quezon City.

Valera has been tagged in the killing of Mario Acena, supporter of his rival Ryan Luna, on April 29 in Barangay Cosili West, Bangued, Abra. Provincial police arrested him hours after the killing along with his security escort, Senior Police Officer 2 Joseph Barreras. He was brought to the SLMC due to hypertension.

Valera said because of the negative results of the paraffin and ballistics tests, he is “highly confident” the case against him and Barreras will be dismissed.