ILOILO CITY-- A former Aklan town mayor accused in the murder of Negrense broadcaster Herson Hinolan  surrendered Wednesday  and yesterday asked the Kalibo Regional Trial Court  to be granted bail and released from detention.

Hinolan, a resident of Talisay City, Negros Occidental, used to be a defense and police beat reporter of Bombo Radyo-Bacolod, before he became the station manager of dyIN Bombo Radyo in Kalibo.

Lawyer Lou Tirol, legal counsel of former Lezo town mayor Alfredo “Fred” Arcenio, filed a petition before the RTC Branch 7 for his client to be allowed to post bail and released from the Aklan Rehabilitation Center.

Arcenio surrendered to the RTC Branch 7 presided by Judge Luna Paman on Wednesday more than a year after he went into hiding after a warrant for his arrest for the murder of Hinolan was issued.

Tirol said they have filed for the petition because the evidence of the prosecution against Arcenio is “weak.”

“Even if he is charged with a capital offense that is non-bailable, jurisprudence has allowed the granting of bail if the evidence against the accused is weak,” Tirol said in a telephone interview.

Witnesses have tagged Arcenio as the lone gunman who repeatedly shot Hinolan outside a carnival in the capital town of Kalibo on Nov. 13, 2004.

Hinolan died from multiple gunshot wounds two days later.

Arcenio, a former intelligence officer and a sergeant under the Army's 47th Infantry Battalion, has repeatedly denied involvement in Hinolan's killing, claiming that he was in Lezo town, around seven kilometers west of Kalibo during the time of the shooting.

On March 31, 2005, the Aklan Provincial Prosecutor’s Office charged

But the charge was upgraded to murder by the Department of Justice after a re-investigation of the case was conducted.

On Sept. 7, 2006, the Kalibo RTC Branch 7 issued an order finding probable cause for murder against Arcenio and ordered his arrest.

But he took a leave of absence as mayor before an  arrest warrant was issued and has been at-large until he surrendered. He has eluded arrest despite a massive manhunt and a P100,000 reward offered by the police for his capture.

Tirol said the evidence of the prosecution has been allegedly further weakened after one of their witnesses, Peter Melgar, recanted his earlier statement against Arcenio.

Melgar earlier said he saw Arcenio running after Hinolan and repeatedly shooting the victim.

Hinolan's widow Aphrodite said she is fearful that Arcenio would be granted bail and released.

“My family and other witnesses would face greater risks if he is free,” she said in a telephone  interview. She urged the DOJ to ensure that the mayor will not be granted bail.

Supt. Benigno Durana, Aklan police director, said their case against Arcenio is “still strong” despite the retraction of Melgar. He said there are still other witnesses and pieces of evidence that support their case.

Media organizations, upon the request of the families, last month asked the Supreme Court to transfer the hearings of the cases of Hinolan and that of another slain Aklan broadcaster Rolando Ureta from Kalibo to the Makati Regional Trial Court for security reasons.

The media groups said the situation in Aklan “do not instill confidence in the mind of potential witnesses, court personnel and complainants that their security will not be compromised if trial is held in the area.”*NPB

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