Bella to ‘yield’ to mayor, Binay

HOMICIDE suspect Bella Ruby Santos will only surrender through the intercession of top local or national government officials, family members said.

Santos’ family and friends said they want her to surrender to Naga City Mayor Valdemar Chiong or Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Santos’ Makati-based lawyer Ana Luz Cristal reportedly has connections with the vice president in her role as secretary of the Makati City Council.

Santos’ family said they couldn’t trust any law enforcement agency in Cebu to handle her surrender.

Arrest warrants were issued this week for Santos and her British boyfriend Ian Charles Griffiths to stand trial for the Feb. 8 kidnapping and homicide of 6-year-old pupil Ellah Joy Pique of Minglanilla town.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7) continued to urge Santos to surrender to them “so she would be given protection.”

“If she will surrender, rest assured all her rights will be protected,” CIDG-7 Inocencio dela Cerna told Cebu Daily News.

Santos’ sister, Ana Marion Lalican, said Santos is is willing to show up soon.

“My sister said she is okay. She told us not to worry because she said she will surface in the right time,” said Ana Marion Lalican said in an interview.

The family said they worry that Santos would be mistreated once arrested.

They also fear that despair would push Santos to commit suicide.

Santos’ relatives are tight-lipped about her whereabouts.

Police Task Force Ellah Joy commended the unnamed private citizen who offered a P100,000 cash reward for those able to provide information on Santos’ whereabouts.

Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador Jr., Cebu provincial police chief and spokesperson of Task Force Ella Joy, said it would motivate people to find Santos. Police wouldn’t say who offered the prize.  With Correspondent Gabriel C. Bonjoc