Judge Arles’ slay case: court orders another suspect released

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Another suspect in the killing of Kabankalan City RTC Judge Henry Arles was ordered released by the court over the weekend.

Eddie Fortunado, one of the 11 suspects in the Arles murder, was detained at the NBI headquarters in Manila for illegal possession of firearms. But last week, Bacolod RTC-branch 42 Judge Fernando Elumba ordered the NBI to release him.

Reports yesterday said Fortunado had already been released over the weekend, but the NBI has not confirmed it yet. NBI-Bacolod head Ferdinand Lavin could not be reached for comment on the matter as of press time.

Based on a decision penned by Elumba on Dec. 26, a copy of which was received last Thursday by Fortunado’s counsel, Romeo Subaldo Sr., Fortunado should be released by the NBI from its custody for lack of legal basis. Tessa Fortunado, his mother, had filed at the RTC a petition for the issuance of a Writ of Amparo.

Elumba said the case does not fall within the sphere of the privilege of the Writ of Amparo, but then there was no legal basis for the continued detention of Fortunado.

Fortunado, along with two other suspects—Jessie Daguia and Alejandro “Vincent” Capunong—had earlier admitted participation in the murder of Arles, but later retracted, saying they had been tortured into admitting to the crime.

Late last year, Daguia and Capunong were able to gain temporary liberty after posting bail. They, as well as Fortunado, were arrested last July for illegal possession of firearms and were detained at NBI-Bacolod. However, they sought for transfer to NBI-Manila for fear of their lives in Bacolod.

The three were also members of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB), whose two other members were also suspects in the Arles murder.

The Arles family had filed last July murder charges against the suspects before the DOJ, which in turn has sent subpoenas to all the suspects but has yet to release its resolution on the merits of the case.

The vice governor vehemently denied the charges and dismissed it as “political harassment.”

Lawyer Frank Britanico, spokesperson of the Arles family and brother-in-law of the slain judge, said in a text message to The Freeman: “It is no longer news to us that a suspect in the murder of Judge Arles is released. It is an offshoot of the deficiencies in our legal system. However, the release will have no effect on the strength of the case that was filed against them.”(FREEMAN)