Barangay captain, photographer asked to testify on Pajero's plate number

CEBU, Philippines - The respondent in the Ellah Joy Pique murder case is presenting today a barangay captain and a member of the media to testify on the alleged tampering by the police of the plate number of the vehicle believed to have been used as a tool to the crime.

Ruby Bella Santos through her lawyer Rameses Villagonzalo yesterday asked the court to issue subpoena duces tecum and ad testificandum to Barangay Inayagan Captain Narciso Tablate and photographer Arni Aclao.

The subpoena duces tecum is a court summon ordering a named party to appear before the court and produce documents or other tangible evidence for use at a hearing or trial while the subpoena ad testificandum is summoning a witness to testify orally in court.

Santos wants Tablate and Aclao to testify in court to prove their claim that the plate number of her Mitsubishi Pajero was tampered with by the police. Villagonzalo said Tablate and Aclao will prove that the plate numbers of the vehicle is LMJ-382 and not LHJ-382.

Villagonzalo said Tablate will testify that during the implementation of the search warrant, the Pajero’s front and rear plate numbers was still LMJ-382. In fact, the barangay tanods signed a receipt of the property before the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-7 took custody of it.

Aclao will be asked to testify and identify the picture that he took of the vehicle at the CIDG bearing plate number LMJ-382.

According to Villagonzalo, the testimonies of the two are necessary in order to put a closure as to who really and actually tampered the Pajero’s plate number from LMJ-382 to LHJ-382.

The court has already ordered the return of Pajero to Santos but the CIDG refused to release it pending the resolution of their partial motion for reconsideration.

Meanwhile, Cebu Provincial Police Office director Patrocinio Comendador yesterday threatened to file charges against Tablate if proven after investigation that he tolerated the operation of cybersex den in his barangay.

Comendador said an investigation will be conducted on the alleged uncooperative behavior of Tablate during the raid at the house of Santos. Comendador said he received information that Tablate got irked when he learned that his tanods helped the police during the raid.

“Mag-conduct pa mi investigation on his seemingly uncooperative way in the investigation and his inability to report the cybersex in the area and if found out positive, the task force will file appropriate administrative and criminal charges against him,” Comendador said in a text message.

Tablate denied tolerating the operation of cybersex in his barangay. He admitted having received information about the existence of cybersex den in his barangay but they failed to validate the information.

“Rampant kuno pero ako kung naa man gani atong dakpon,” Tablate told The FREEMAN. (FREEMAN)