CA orders Antique town mayor freed

ILOILO CITY –– The Court of Appeals has ordered the temporary release of an Antique town mayor who was convicted for violating the election gun ban after the court granted his petition for bail.

The appellate court’s 18th Division ordered the release of Mayor John Lloyd Pacete of Bugasong, Antique on December 16, a day after his lawyers posted bail of P24,000.

The court granted the petition for bail of Pacete on December 12 pending appeal of his conviction, according to Eduardo Fortaleza, one of the mayor’s legal counsels.

Pacete has been detained at the district jail in the capital town of San Jose since April 26.

Judge Mario Andres Jr. of the Bugasong Antique Regional Trial Court convicted Pacete on February 27 for violating the election gun ban in the 2016 elections.

Pacete was sentenced to imprisonment from a minimum of one year and a maximum of two years. He was also disqualified from holding public office and from voting.

The court subsequently denied Pacete’s motion for reconsideration and canceled his bail.

Pacete has appealed his conviction before the appellate court./lzb