DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Supt. Leonardo Felonia, the police officer implicated in the June 12 slaying of Cebu hotelier Richard King, was formally charged with murder – a non-bailable crime – at the city prosecutor’s office here on Tuesday.
The filing of the charge against Felonia, chief of the police’s Regional Intelligence Unit in Southern Mindanao, came shortly after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) announced it had no reason to hold him in custody.
Felonia was briefly taken into NBI custody after he was turned over by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Monday evening in connection with King’s killing.
While the police officer’s name had been implicated in the killing, Duterte said on Monday that Felonia was not a suspect yet.
This was the same reason why lawyer Dante Gierran, director of the NBI in Southern Mindanao, had said his office could not yet take any action on Felonia because there was no case against him yet.
“He was submitting himself for fact-finding investigation to clear his name but at the moment, we could not yet take any action because there is no case yet, and there is no warrant of arrest,” said Gierran.
But before the close of office on Tuesday, the police in Southern Mindanao said formal charges had already been brought up against Felonia.
Insp. Jed Clamor, spokesperson of the Southern Mindanao police, said the murder charge against Felonia was filed based on “the statements of the suspects.”
“The PNP laments the dragging of the name of one of our personnel,” Clamor said.
But he said the filing of the murder charge would ensure Felonia a fair trial and a chance to formally clear his name.
The Inquirer learned as of late Tuesday that no warrant of arrest had been issued against Felonia.
Gierran said he did not know if Felonia was in his office at Ecoland Subdivision here but during his brief stay at the NBI, the police officer had shown him a text message from Camp Crame, temporarily relieving him of his duties as chief of the RIU 11.
Felonia was dragged into the King slay case when he was identified by one of the suspects as the same police officer who allegedly ordered the businessman’s killing.
Rommel dela Cerna, 39, who had surrendered to the police on Sunday, said that Paul Dave Labang, the alleged gunman, got a call from Felonia earlier on June 12 and instructed him to look for a businessman in Barrio Obrero. The other suspect was Dela Cerna’s brother, Rodel.
Felonia, who voluntarily surrendered to Duterte, had denied ordering the killing and added that he had submitted himself to authorities to clear his name.
“I am innocent that’s why I’m voluntarily submitting myself,” he said.
Meanwhile, the police said that even with the arrest of the three suspects, the King case has not been declared close yet.
Authorities said they were still trying to determine who the mastermind was, and what could be the motive behind his murder.
Unlike previous cases of arrests of suspects in high-profile crimes in the city, wherein the police parade the suspects, the arrested suspects for the King slay case had been kept from the public eye.
When they were transported for inquest proceedings on Tuesday, policemen put hats over their heads. The suspects also covered their faces.
On Tuesday afternoon, city police director Vicente Danao stole the scene when he arrived at the Hall of Justice here with an assault rifle and accompanied by a police SWAT team.
Danao explained that he went there to help secure the anticipated arrival of the suspects and their families at the court.
He added that the families of the accused approached him after they were allegedly harassed by men on motorcycles.
“The men tailed the mother in law of one of the suspects last night. They were also looking for the brother of Labang and asked if they already had lawyers,” Danao said.
Danao said because of this, the city police deployed additional forces “to help ensure the safety of the accused and their relatives.”
“Who will benefit if these three men will be eliminated?” Danao asked, hinting that the mastermind behind the killing has been mobilizing its men.
He also warned the men to stop what they were doing.
“If we see you and you are armed, you would definitely die,” Danao said.