3 accused in Bogo bank rob ask fiscal to dismiss charges

Three of the seven accused in the Land Bank of the Philippines-Bogo robbery have denied their involvement in the incident and asked the Cebu City Prosecutor's Office to dismiss the case against them.

Joseph Ancajas, Dindo Ancero and Ceferino Serbano have already submitted their respective counter-affidavits denying their involvement in the P9.4-million bank heist last August 2. Ancajas himself pleaded further for a clarificatory hearing.

A preliminary investigation of the case is now conducted at the city prosecutor's office after provincial prosecutor Pepita Jane Petralba declared she was inhibiting from it.

Assistant city prosecutor Fernando Gubalane said his office has yet to evaluate if a clarificatory hearing is still needed, as Ancajas had sought.

The other accused are Joel Sumabong and Henry Cuerda, and lately two others, Efren Beladas and Isagani Chico, have been included in the amended information, as Regional Trial Court-Bogo judge Antonio Marigomen had earlier ordered.

Ancajas, in denying his involvement, argued that he was only implicated in the robbery based on the affidavit of bank employee Jocelyn Antigua who he said even failed to identify him positively when he was presented to her earlier.

Ancajas claimed that on August 2, 2005 he stayed at his cousin's kiosk in barangay Taytayan, Bogo, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.-a period that was broken only when he went home for lunch. Ancajas said the kiosk has been his hangout and the people near the area because of the cold clime there.

He said that he only came to know about the robbery the following day when he was at the house of his friend in Taytayan. He was surprised further when, on August 10, he was implicated to the Land Bank-Bogo robbery based on witnesses' allegations that they saw him among the robbers.

Ancajas said the police and National Bureau of Investigation agents arrested him on August 8 but such was based on an arrest warrant for a physical injury case, which he claimed the RTC-Bogo had long been dismissed.

Ancero, for his part, also denied knowing about the robbery saying he was at a pharmacy to buy medicine with his friend Ramil at about 7:30 p.m. on August 2 when they heard about the robbery through the radio.

Earlier, he and Ramil were eating bread at a nearby bakeshop when he received a text message requesting him to drive the van, left earlier in front of the Human Settlements building when it overheated, to the building's parking lot.

The van was the one allegedly used as the getaway vehicle of the robbers but its alleged owner Serbano said the vehicle was not registered under his name.

Serbano, on the other hand, said the inclusion of his name in the case was misplaced and without factual and legal bases. He said it was his brother-in-law Danilo Sy who was using the van and, on the day of the robbery he learned that Sumabong borrowed the vehicle.

Sumabong has been tagged the leader of the robbery gang but he in turn pointed at Bogo Mayor Celestino "Tining" Martinez III, as the alleged mastermind.

But the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group investigated Sumabong's claim and eventually cleared the mayor. - Fred P. Languido