Warrants issued vs Negros official for grenade, gun possession

BACOLOD CITY – A La Carlota City judge has issued warrants of arrest against Vice Mayor Ella Celestina Garcia-Yulo of Moises Padilla town in Negros Occidental and her husband for alleged possession of firearms and two grenades.

Their lawyer Karol Joseph Chiu, however, maintained that the issuance of the warrants didn’t mean the vice mayor and her husband, Felix Mathias Segundo Feria Yulo III, were guilty of the charges filed against them since the trial of the case had not even started.

He said his clients, whom he said were innocent of the charges, had pending petition for review of the “trumped-up” cases against them at the Department of Justice.

The Yulos still have other legal options, he said, pointing out that they could file a motion for bail at the La Carlota Regional Trial Court.

Judge Cyclamen Jison-Fernandez of RTC Branch 63 in La Carlalota City on Aug. 20, issued warrants of arrest against the Yulos of Barangay Poblacion, Moises Padilla, for Criminal Case No 5456 for violation of Republic Act 9516 on illegal possession of explosives.

Information filed in court alleged that on Dec. 19, 2017, the couple was in a Mitsubishi Strada when police manning a checkpoint found two grenades in their possession.

Separate warrants of arrest were also issued against the couple in Criminal Case 5457 for violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act with bail set at P200,000 each.

Information filed in court in Criminal Case 5457 alleged that on Dec. 19, 2017, the Yulos possessed two .45-caliber pistols and ammunition without the necessary license. /cbb