Ecija prosecutor’s office junks raps vs mayor
SAN ANTONIO, Nueva Ecija – The Nueva Ecija provincial prosecutor’s office has junked the cases of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and gun ban violation filed against Mayor Arvin C. Salonga and his municipal budget officer after it ruled that the search operation conducted against them was illegal and the evidence obtained during the same incident were inadmissible.
The ruling was contained in a three-page joint resolution dated June 20, 2022, a copy of which was received by Mayor Salonga on Friday (July 29). It was signed by Asst. Prosecutor IV Edison V. Rafanan and approved by Bener O. Bauto, Provincial Prosecutor.
It stemmed from an incident that occurred on the night of the eve of the May 9 local polls when an almost six-hour standoff occurred between Salonga and his men with police authorities in Bgy. San Francisco.
It took place after a Mitsubishi Montero SUV owned by Salonga’s mayoral opponent accidentally collided with a Toyota Land Cruiser that was part of a seven-vehicle convoy of the mayor.
Due to the said incident, Salonga and municipal budget officer Armando M. Cruz along with the mayor’s civilian bodyguards were arrested and detained for illegal gun possession and violation of the Comelec gun ban after several high-powered firearms were seized from their vehicles.
However, at past 7 p.m. shortly after the elections ended, the police temporarily released Salonga and Cruz from its custody after it got a copy of a resolution from Provincial Prosecutor Bauto which stated that his office found no probable cause for their continued detention, citing that their case would undergo regular preliminary investigation.
During the preliminary investigation, the respondents, who according to the complaining police officers voluntarily surrendered the subject firearms, submitted their joint counter-affidavits, questioning the legality of their arrests and invoking that the search conducted was illegal and violative of their constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizures.
After finding the evidence obtained from them inadmissible, “it is respectfully recommended that the charges against respondents Salonga and Cruz for violation of Republic Act 10591 in relation to Section 261 (q) of BP 881 (Omnibus Election Code) BE DISMISSED,” the resolution said.
