MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Prosecutors’ Office of Quezon City Monday ordered the release of Rep. Bingbong Crisologo (Quezon City) after police arrested him for allegedly obstructing an operation to arrest suspected vote buyers.
The STAR reported that the inquest prosecutor ordered the release of Crisologo and 45 others who were also arrested Sunday night, and directed further investigation into the complaint.
BREAKING: QC mayoralty bet Bingbong Crisologo, his son and 44 others have been released from police custody as the fiscal has recommended that the complaint be threshed out in a preliminary investigation l @PhilippineStar pic.twitter.com/t95Ty6o9dn
— Romina Cabrera (@rominaprecab) May 13, 2019
The resolution stated that the affidavit of the arrest and the pieces of evidence presented “failed to justify the in flagrante delicto (in blazing offense)” of the respondents.
“The evidence is presently unclear that the rime of vote buying and vote selling took place. There is no showing of a clear offer to purchase a vote and the acceptance of the offer,” the inquest resolution further read.
Quezon City police arrested Crisologo and his son, lawyer Edrix, late Sunday night.
Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, Metro Manila top cop, told Philstar.com that Crisologo was “arrested for obstruction of justice.”
In a later report from GMA News, Brig, Gen. Joselito Esquivel, Quezon City Police District director, said that cops were conducting an operation at Brgy. Toro and accosted people suspected of vote buying.
"The report was that Crisologo arrived [at the scene] and started to curse at and threatened charges against the police," Esquivel said at a late night press conference.
Crisologo however said that police, who were not in uniform and were wearing slippers, entered a house in the said barangay without a warrant.
"What happened was training for poll watchers was ongoing. We were handing out paraphernalia for the watchers. The police entered the house without a search warrant. So, there was confusion," he said in Filipino in the video posted on the Facebook page of former lawmaker Michael Defensor, now a first nominee of Anakalusugan party-list.
Crisologo was brought to Camp Karingal, the Quezon City Police District’s headquarters, Sunday night where he spent the night in detention.
Past noon Monday, election day, cops brought Crisologo to the Quezon City Prosecutors Office for an inquest proceeding. He was brought back to Camp Karingal pending the inquest resolution which was issued past 2 p.m.
The STAR also reported said that Crisologo went to Brgy. Sta Cruz in Quezon City after his release from Camp Karingal.
Crisologo is running for the mayoral seat in Quezon City. — Kristine Joy Patag with reports from The STAR/Romina Cabrera