Negros Occidental town vice mayor, husband, yield to police to face raps

Chief Supt. John Bulalacao, Police Regional Office-6 director, with Moises Padillal vice mayor Ella Garcia Yulo and her husband Felix Mathias Segundo Yulo

BACOLOD CITY- A municipal vice mayor and her husband surrendered to the police on Tuesday to face charges of illegal possession of explosives and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

Vice Mayor Ella Garcia Yulo of Moises Padilla town and husband Felix Mathias Segundo Yulo were brought to the Regional Trial Court Branch 63 in La Carlota City in Negros Occidental, which issued the warrants for their arrest on Aug. 20.

Judge Cyclamen Jison-Fernandez of La Carlota RTC issued the warrants for the Yulos for charges of possession of two guns and two grenades during a police checkpoint in Moises Padilla on Dec. 19, 2017.

No bail was granted in the case for possession of grenades, while bail was set at P200,000 each for the charges for illegal possession of guns.

The vice mayor and her husband went to the Bacolod police headquarters at Magsaysay Avenue in Bacolod on Tuesday morning after Martin Diño, Interior and Local Government undersecretary for barangay affairs and the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption gave assurance for their safety.

Jose Marcelino Garcia, brother of the vice mayor, sought Dino’s help last week.

Yulo explained that they did not surrender immediately because of security and safety issues.

“Now that the safety is guaranteed, we will need to face this because this is just political harassment. They planted the evidence so I will not run,” Yulo said.

Chief Supt. John Bulalacao, Police Regional Office director for Western Visayas, said the Yulos were presumed innocent until proven guilty by the court of law.

“We take their act of voluntarily surrendering as a manifestation of respect for the rule of law and the justice system,” Bulalacao said.

After their surrender, the Yulos were subjected to fingerprints specimen procedure.

Their mugshots were taken at the Bacolod City Police Office headquarters before they went to Bacolod Police Station 8 for blotter purposes and proceeded to La Carlota RTC to be presented to the court.

The couple’s lawyer Karol Joseph Chiu said his clients would be detained at the police station in La Castellana town where their safety could be assured.

He added that they also filed a motion for bail as his clients were innocent of the charges hurled against them.