Man gets 12 years
for killing neighbor

A Cauayan resident was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the crime of homicide for stabbing to death his neighbor in 2006 and meted a maximum of 12 years of imprisonment.

Judge Henry Arles of the Kabankalan Regional Trial Court also ordered Marcelino Estrello, alias Toto Gamay, to pay P50,000 for the killing of Gene Vidal, aside from serving seven years to 12 years imprisonment.

Court records show that Estrello stabbed Vidal with a bolo in Sitio Humalag, Brgy. Masaling, Cauayan on April 2`7, 2006

Estrello who denied killing Vidal, claimed it was he who was hacked by the victim who hit his left hand, two fingers and the left side of his body.

Aaron Vidal, son of the victim, however, said it was Estrello who stabbed his father. His testimony was corroborated by prosecution witness Maria Fe Tubilan.

Tubilan told the court that Estrello stabbed Vidal who was wrestling for the possession of a “sumpak (homemade shotgun)”with his brother, Jonald.

Arles said the Court finds no reason to disbelieve the testimonies of Aaron and Tubilan, in the absence of a motive for testifying falsely against Estrello.

He added that the defense of denial invoked by Estrello could not be given credence, as it cannot prevail over the positive allegation of the two prosecution witnesses.

Arles also ordered the immediate remittance of Estrello to the National Penitentiary in Muntinlupa.*GPB

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Security up at Hall of Justice

The police yesterday assured that there is adequate security at the Bacolod Hall of Justice for court employees and the public amid the spate of violence in three justice halls in the country recently.

Bacolod City Police Office director, Senior Supt. Ronilo Quebrar, said only three officers are detailed to the HOJ everyday but security measures in the building against untoward incidents are strict.

A former mayor on trial for allegedly killing a political rival was shot dead by still unidentified persons outside a courtroom in Manila Tuesday.

SPO1 Rommel Pretta, one of the officers posted at the HOJ in Bacolod , said they are taking turns in patrolling the three storey-structure in coordination with the 10 security guards everyday.

Security guards at the main entrance also check the bags and packages of people who enter the building, and those with guns are required to leave them for safekeeping.

Pretta said they also provide added security to members of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and sheriffs for courtrooms hearing sensational cases, or whenever there are promulgations.

He said, however, that it will be better if more officers be assigned there, noting that six members used to be detailed at the building.

Meanwhile, Pastor Seballos, head of the HOJ security, said, the administrative office will heighten security measures in the building to further ensure the safety of everyone.

He said judges at the HOJ, employees, lawyers, and visitors, will have separate logbooks starting February.

Visitors and lawyers will also have ID's for easy identification of everyone in the building, Seballos said.*PP

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3 robbers nabbed

Three persons, two of them teenagers, were arrested by barangay tanods for their alleged involvement in an upholstery shop burglary in Bacolod City yesterday, the police said.

Arnold Abraham, 23, and two boys, aged 13 and 15, were endorsed to Police Station 1 by Brgy. 16 tanods Joeffrey Ayupan, Joey de la Cruz and kagawad Luz Villa Asas, after they were intercepted with a sack of metals and machines at Bag-ong Dalan, Brgy. 16, at about 2 a.m. yesterday, police records show.

Recovered from the suspects were a sewing machine motor, an electric saw, and assorted bolts and knobs valued at around P20,000, police reports said.

The two minors have been endorsed to the Bacolod Social Development Center for rehabilitation, while Abraham is detained at Police Station 1.

Abraham, a trisikad driver, said he did not know the two teenagers were carrying stolen items because he thought they were only passengers.

He admitted, however, that he knows both of the boys as they are from Brgy. 16.

The shop owner, Jerry Villaplaza, said that if the items had not veen recovered from the suspects, it could have been a blow to his only source of livelihood.

Case investigator, PO3 Celito Dullan, said they will file robbery charges against Abraham but it will depend on the prosecutor whether the two minors will be included.

Police Station 1 commander, Chief Inspector Noel Manaay, meanwhile, said, he will recommend that the teenagers be charged because yesterday's burglary was the second one in which they have been involved.*PP

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