POLICE FAILS TO ARREST SUSPECTS

Mapili refuses to surrender 3 bodyguards

LINGAYEN–The police is prepared to throw the books at Mayor Carlos Mapili of Tayug if he continues to coddle his three bodyguards believed involved in the slaying of a passenger van dispatcher and the wounding of a tricycle driver last July 24.

Police Provincial Director Senior Superintendent Isagani Nerez, a lawyer, said he has already ordered the Tayug police to document its evidence and include in the case all those who may stand in the way of the investigation by protecting the suspects. But he stopped short of mentioning the town mayor.

      This developed as the running feud between the town police and Mapili appears to have reached a boiling point after the police failed to effect the arrest of the suspects more than a week after the slaying of Elmer Avestruz, 44, and the wounding of Alfredo Batican in an incident that happened along Bonifacio street in Tayug.

Nerez said he fully supports Sr. Inspector Michael Daskeo, officer-in-charge of the Tayug Police, and his men who have been frustrated in arresting Mapili’s three bodyguards identified as Bimbo Cluterio, Ruben Severino and Lando Fernandez.

The Tayug police, according to Nerez, technically can no longer invoke the doctrine of hot pursuit against the suspects since more than one week had already passed since the incident. Instead, a warrant of arrest must now be secured from the court.

Nerez cited the ruling of the Supreme Court in the celebrated criminal case against Rolito Go that states after seven days, the police can no longer arrest the suspects of a crime using the hot pursuit doctrine.

Nerez said at this point, the police can only arrest the suspects if a case has been filed and a court order issued.

Daskeo and his men, on board a police patrol car aided by two motorcycling riding-men from the 10th Police Mobile Group, chased the suspects who tried and succeeded to elude the police on board a stainless-owner-type jeep with Plate No. ARD-197.

Meanwhile, Mapili in rejecting calls for him to surrender his bodyguards maintained that he could not be compelled to surrender the suspects since there is no case filed against them.

He added that both the case being contemplated against his bodyguards is politically motivated. He was reportedly out of town when the shooting incident happened and only returned to Tayug three days later. 

AIRTIGHT CASE

The police filed the complaint on July 27 but the same was returned by the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office to the police owing to some noted deficiencies in the complaint filed.

“We are now carefully preparing the complaint as we want an airtight case against the suspects,” Daskeo said.

Daskeo said the three suspects who are now freely roaming the streets may have been advised by a lawyer to keep out of sight for at least a week to avoid being arrested without a warrant.

The police reportedly called on Mapili, a lawyer and a former Assistant Provincial Prosecutor, several times to voluntarily surrender his bodyguards but this was met with indifference.

Recently, the municipal council adopted a resolution asking Capili to help effect the surrender of the three suspects and still no positive response was given.

Nerez said Daskeo consulted him immediately after the chief bodyguard of the mayor, Alas Pastor, refused to hand over the stainless owner-type jeep used as get-away vehicle by the three suspects which was found parked in the compound of Mapili minutes after the killing.

Nerez said a possible case of obstruction of justice may also be filed against certain persons who are misleading the investigation or preventing the police from completing its mission.

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