Ex-cop appears in court as counsel and witness

CEBU - A former policeman who petitioned for court protection because of the alleged assassination plot against him by two ranking police officials and a non-commissioned policeman yesterday appeared in court assuming the personality of both as a lawyer for himself and a witness.

Dismissed policeman Marlon Sarmiento failed to get a lawyer to assist him in his petition for writ of amparo against Police Senior Supt. Jesus Gaquing, Sr., Police Senior Insp. Ceferino Tabay, Jr. and PO3 Andy Nonong and insisted before the court to appear as counsel for himself.

Despite having advised by Regional Trial Court Sylva Aguirre-Paderanga the other day to engage the services of a counsel, Sarmiento insisted yesterday to represent himself.

He claimed that he was not able to get a lawyer from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines because no one from the legal aid program was available to assist him.

Paderanga was forced to allow Sarmiento to represent himself and assume the dual personality of a lawyer and a witness at the same time.

It was Sarmiento’s turn yesterday to present his evidence to support his petition but since he has no lawyer, he was forced to do what former president Ferdinand Marcos once did, conducting a direct examination of himself.

After presenting his brother, Mulric, as his first witness, it was Sarmiento’s turn to testify. He took the witness stand but since he has no lawyer to conduct the direct examination, he propounded questions to himself.

Just as he was about to answer his own question, the court asked him if he was willing to adopt his affidavit as his direct testimony and do away with a “hilarious” situation of him talking to himself.

Defense counsel Noel Archival, who represented Tabay, focused his cross-examination on testing Sarmiento’s credibility, which included the recalling of names of his professors in the college of law at the University of the Visayas that most of them he could no longer remember.

Sarmiento insisted that his life is under threat by the alleged assassins hired by the respondents.

According to him, he did not have other adversaries than Gaquing, Tabay and Nonong whom he charged with criminal and administrative cases before the Ombudsman and the prosecutor’s office.

He insisted on having knowledge that the respondents have hired people to kill him, thus, seeking a permanent protection from the court. — Fred P. Languido/LPM (THE FREEMAN)