The family of Noel Orate Sr., who was shot dead on Feb. 10 in the house of his former long-time companion, Nanette Castelo Daza, a former Quezon City representative, has blocked the arraignment of slay suspect Alan Robes and has asked for a reinvestigation of the case.
In a motion filed in Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 218 on Tuesday, the petitioners, who described themselves as the “heirs of Noel Posadas Orate,” said Robes, a member of the Bulacan provincial board and Daza’s son-in-law, should be charged with murder and not homicide. (See related story on next page)
Orate’s children said it could not have been a case of self-defense since their father was shot five times.
They claimed it was Daza who summoned their father to her house on the night he was killed.
Lawyer Eduardo Bringas, the counsel of Orate’s heirs, also said his clients fear the case against Robes could be dismissed on technical grounds.
Bringas said the criminal information filed by the police against Robes lacks several crucial documents on the results of the investigation.
“Unless the arraignment is deferred and a reinvestigation is conducted, the accused will be prosecuted with a defective (criminal) ‘information’ which he can use to cause the dismissal of his case,” Bringas said.
The relatives also asked the court to issue a hold departure order against Robes, saying he is a flight risk.
“In as much as there is a risk of flight on the part of the accused, in the event that the charge against him will be upgraded to murder, private complainants pray that a hold departure order be issued against him,” read the motion filed on Tuesday.
Bringas added that the criminal information document filed in court by the police was “defective” because the ownership of the gun used to kill Orate had not been established.
The lawyer also noted it did not contain the certification of the assistant city prosecutor who conducted the inquest proceedings.
The document does not bear the confirmation of the city prosecutor or his designated representative which is a standard procedure, he added.