Bid to retain some "evidence" vs Santos denied

CEBU, Philippines - The Regional Trial Court has denied the partial motion for reconsideration filed by Reynante Pique seeking to retain in the custody of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group the items seized from the house of the suspects in the kidnapping and murder of his daughter.

RTC Judge Mienrado Paredes denied Pique’s motion for intervention and partial reconsideration on the ground that it lacks factual and legal basis. According to Paredes, although Pique is the father of the victim, he has no personality to intervene in the proceedings because it is the CIDG-7 to which the court issued the search warrant against Ruby Bella Santos that has the legal personality on the matter of the petition to quash the search warrant.

The court added that even if Pique had the legal personality, the issues raised by him through the Children’s Legal Bureau were already tackled by the court.

“Even if the court will have to assume that Renante Pique has personality to file a motion for reconsideration the issues that he raised in his motion were already passed upon and resolved by the court in the previous incidents,” Paredes’ four-page order reads.

Paredes advised Pique instead to coordinate with the CIDG.

Pique would have wanted the court to reconsider its earlier order to return the hair strands, LAN cord, two stones, pornographic CD covers and assorted CDs to Santos because these were not among the items listed on the search warrant.

Pique said the police did not enumerate the said items in their application for search warrant against Santos because they did not expect to find them inside the suspect’s house.

But the court said, “The police officers cannot engage in fishing expedition. They must have personal knowledge that the items seized were used or intended to be used in the commission of the crime.”

The CIDG implemented the search warrant against Santos in Barangay Inayagan, Naga City on April 4. Santos and her Bristish boyfriend Ian Charles Griffiths were charged with kidnapping with homicide before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office. They are accused in the kidnapping and murder of six-year-old Ellah Joy Pique last February. (FREEMAN)