Former Bacolod police chief Vicente Ponteras last night said he is innocent of the unjust charges filed against him for the kidnapping of a former city barangay captain, and is now in a "safe place" following the issuance of a warrant of arrest against him.

Ponteras told the DAILY STAR that a Regional Trial Court judge in Guihulngan, Oriental Negros, had issued on Tuesday a warrant of arrest against him and former Bacolod police chief George Bajelot for the kidnapping of ex-Pahanocoy Barangay Captain Eleuterio Salabas in August 2003. First Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Fidel Macauyag on July 12 this year filed an amended information, including Ponteras, Bajelot and police asset Cecil Brillantes in the kidnapping raps pending before the Guihulngan RTC.

The inclusion of Ponteras and Bajelot brought to 12 the number of policemen accused in the kidnapping of Salabas who was later found dead.

In his affidavit, Brillantes said he joined a meeting attended by Ponteras and Bajelot at the Bacolod City Police office where an operation against Salabas who was suspected to be involved in illegal drugs was discussed.

Ponteras yesterday said he did not understand why the family of Salabas are including him and Bajelot in the charges when they know they had no part in the kidnapping.

I do not know what their motive is, he said.

He also said he is saddened that the prosecutor believed the claims of a police asset with a criminal record over a senior police officer who had spent many years working to protect people's lives.

Ponteras said he filed a motion on Monday before the Guihulngan RTC to defer the issuance of a warrant of arrest because he was filing a motion for review of the prosecutor's decision to include him, before the Department of Justice.

But Ponteras said he has information that Rudy Orosa who works for the family of Salabas wife, Elizabeth Orola, had gone to the Guihulngan RTC to wait for the release of the warrants of arrest.

Ponteras said he has gone into hiding because he is innocent and is working on other legal remedies.

He was Negros Occidental police provincial director when Salabas was kidnapped in Bacoolod and killed, and had nothing to do with police activities in the city, Ponteras said.

He said if a police intelligence meeting was held on Salabas, civilians like Brillantes would not be present. It is standard operating procedure for only policemen to be present when intelligence matters are discussed, he said.

But Salabas was not on the police drug list so why would the police even plan an operation against him? Ponteras asked. It is preposterous to link policemen to Salabas' kidnapping for his alleged drug involvement, Ponteras added.

And since Salabas was not on the police watch list why would so many people have to be involved in his kidnapping since he was unarmed and not known to be dangerous? Ponteras asked.

Since he and Bajelot were close to retirement at the time, why would they even get involved in such activity, Ponteras also asked.

And why did the Salabas family wait this long after the crime to include him and Bajelot? he asked

In 2003 they charged him for negligence for the police handling of the Salabas kidnap-slay probe, Ponteras said. The charges was dismissed, he said.

He does not know why now they have included him as a principal in the kidnapping, Ponteras said..

The claims of Brillantes against him are all fabricated lies, Ponteras said.*CPG

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Meanwhile, Negros Occidental Police Office director, Senior Supt. Rosendo Franco, yesterday said that he does not understand why Ponteras and Bajelot were included in the charges only now and not during the height of the case, when 10 police officers were also tagged.

If the two had indeed been involved in the kidnapping of Salabas, they would not have done it publicly, Franco said.

"I don't understand why you will commit a crime that everybody knows about," Franco said.*PP

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