3 policemen in slay of lawyer disappear

CEBU CITY—The National Bureau of Investigation has launched a nationwide manhunt for the former regional chief of the Highway Patrol Group in Central Visayas (HPG 7) and two other policemen linked to the murders of Cebuano lawyer Noel Archival and his two companions on Feb. 18.

Senior Supt. Romualdo Iglesia, Senior Supt. Joselito Lerion and PO1 Alex Bacani could not be found by an NBI investigator who served the arrest warrant against them at Camp Crame in Manila on Friday.

Iglesia, Lerion and Bacani were supposedly under camp restriction at the Philippine National Police headquarters since April.

“They are not allowed to get out of the camp (Crame). They were confined to the barracks early on so that they could be easily located by the time their presence is needed,” said Max Salvador, NBI director for Central Visayas.

Cebu City Councilor Nestor Archival, the eldest brother of the slain lawyer, called on Philippine National Police acting chief Leonardo Espina to locate and yield Iglesia, Lerion and Bacani who are facing multiple and frustrated murder charges at the Regional Trial Court in Argao town.

“We can say that the only consolation we have is to see behind bars or in prison the brain and all those involved in the killing of my brother,” he said in a statement, which he read to the media.

He also asked Iglesia, Lerion and Bacani to surrender.

“I ask you, what if this happened to your family?” the councilor said.

Defense lawyer Inocencio de la Cerna Jr. said he, too, didn’t know where the suspects were.

On Dec. 11, Judge Maximo Perez of Regional Trial Court Branch 26 in Argao ordered the arrest of the officers.

On Dec. 12, Eric Bringas, NBI special investigator, tried to serve the warrant in Camp Crame but the three were not there.

On Tuesday, NBI regional chief Salvador wrote the personnel department of thePNP-HPG to inquire about the three officers. No reply has been received until Thursday.

Noel Archival and   his aides Candido Minoza, Alejandro Jaime and Paolo Cortes were returning to Cebu City after a court hearing in Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental province when they were attacked on Feb. 18 in Dalaguete town, southern Cebu province.

Noel, a human rights lawyer, died on the spot.

While no one saw the faces of the assailants,   documentary evidence secured by the NBI pointed to the HPG 7.

The red Toyota Vios used in the ambush was found in the HPG 7 compound. The other vehicle—a gray Mitsubishi Strada—could not be located at the HPG impounding area in Barangay Lahug in Cebu City.

Evidence showed that the police officers had an ax to grind against Noel, who had filed charges against them.