Forgiveness, Freedom Berger, Esdrelon file their counter-affidavit

CEBU, Philippines - Norwegian Sven Erik Berger and Karen Esdrelon, suspects in the murder of six-year-old Ellah Joy Pique, have already submitted their counter-affidavit and prayed that their case be immediately resolved and dismissed.

This as Berger said they have already forgiven Cebu Provincial Police Office director Erson Digal and will continue to seek police protection for fear of their lives.

Their lawyer Salvador Solima also requested that an order for the immediate release of his clients from detention be issued.

Berger, a computer engineer, and Esdrelon, a registered nurse, are still detained at the Cebu Provincial Police Office.

 In their joint counter-affidavit, both denied the allegations of the complainant, Renante Bulado Pique and the police contending that at the time of the alleged kidnapping they were not in Barangay Calajoan, Minglanilla town, but in Cebu City.

 The affidavit also attaches receipts and certifications from Waterfront Cebu Hotel and Casino, among other establishments, to prove there was no way for them to be in Calajoan at the time.

 “We owe our new life to our beloved Governor Gwendolyn Garcia for her foresight to prevent injustice, by allowing the NBI to painstakingly retrace out itinerary that truly reflects the exact time and place of our location when the minor Ellah Joy Pique was kidnapped. For that, we are eternally grateful,” the affidavit read.

The affidavit added that they have already forgiven Cebu Provincial Police Office director Erson Digal despite all the sorrow, pain and sadness they have had to undergo.

The affidavit further stated that there is no point determining whether or not there exists probable cause against them in light of the confirmation by the NBI in its report of their presence at the Norwegian language school and the Waterfront Hotel at the precise time the child was abducted, negating the alleged positive identification by child witnesses.

But Berger said they will still request the PNP for security. Berger said he fears for their lives as long as the real culprits have not yet been arrested.

“We will not ever go outside the gate of this office until I can assure that we are safe,” he said.

The couple will fly to Norway to get married after they will be cleared and the case will be dismissed.

Solima wants the Provincial Fiscal’s Office to have an immediate decision on the released of his clients.

Solima also said the Bureau of Immigration did not have the authority to hold the couple since there was no hold order released against them.

“Kay dili man sila ang suspects unta makita na ang tinuoray nga criminal,” he said.

Berger and Esdrelon were kept from boarding an evening flight to Hong Kong last Feb. 12 after an immigration officer said their passport photos resembled the cartographic sketches of Ellah Joy’s kidnappers.

Meanwhile, the mother who earlier pointed to Esdrelon as the woman who tried to kidnap her daughter last January 9 is now hesitant to file a case against the nurse.

Earlier, Elena Cabahug, 40, personally visited the Mandaue City Police Office last week together with her daughter, seven-year-old Charleene Mae, and told MCPO director Noel Gillamac that Esdrelon tried to kidnap her child in the Eversley Child Sanitarium last January 9.

The child had positively identified Esdrelon during a police line-up at the CPPO last week.

But IDMB chief Insp. Ramil Morpos said the two are no longer certain it was Esdrelon who tried to take her.

The complainants explained that the would-be kidnapper had a mole in her face and had fair complexion while Esdrelon does not have a mole in her face and is morena.

Morpos also said he talked to the principal of Charleene Mae’s school who said it was not Esdrelon who tried to kidnap the child.

“Hasta ang mga silingan nga nakakita sa hitabo pulos niingon nga dili gyud kuno na mao si Esdrelon,” Morpos said. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon, Ria Mae Y. Booc and Flor Z. Perolina/BRP (FREEMAN)