Bella Ruby: I was partying, enjoying

CEBU, Philippines - It was not to resist arrest, but to enjoy her temporary freedom in Manila.

This was the statement of Bella Ruby Santos, one of two suspects in the kidnap-slay of six-year-old Ellah Joy Pique, when she was presented to the media by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) yesterday.

Santos arrived from Manila late afternoon on board PR849 of Philippine Airlines escorted by NBI Agent Arnel Pura and Asst. Regional Director Lauro Reyes.

The NBI spared nothing in their preparations for Santos’ security.

She was made to wear a bullet proof vest and had several NBI agents and police personnel in the convoy that took her to the NBI-7 headquarters in Capitol-Site, Cebu City from the airport.

When she was presented by NBI-7 Director Edward Villarta, Santos said that she had grand in Manila and even managed to go to Boracay, Subic, and Puerto Galera.

“For almost three months I just stayed in Manila, partying with Maxine (an actress) and enjoyed because I know this time will come,” Santos said.

She said that it was part of moving on and a way to avoid depression.

“It’s not about resisting arrest but moving on,” she said.

Santos said that she stayed in Quezon City and knows who provided information that led to her arrest.

She would not, however, divulge who it is as the person would become popular at her expense.

She also said that she kept in touch with her boyfriend and co-accused Ian Charles Griffiths, who is in the United Kingdom. She said that Griffiths has been sending her money.

Her relatives, who went to the NBI-7 headquarters, were not allowed to get in the office for security reasons, but Santos was allowed to see her mother, Bautista-Erejano and her lawyer Rameses Villagonzalo.

At the airport, among those who were there to see Santos return was Renante Pique, father of the victim.

Santos was arrested by Pura last Friday inside a mall in Manila after he was tipped of her presence there.

She has been missing for three months since a warrant for her arrest was issued.

SPY FROM CIDG?

Santos denied the allegations that she has an insider at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

Rumors had it that Santos was paying one of the personnel at the CIDG P20,000 a month to tip her off if there would be an operation to arrest her.

She vehemently denied this.

Support

Wearing white t-shirts printed with “Bella and Ian are innocent,” Santos relatives went to the NBI-7 office to offer moral support to Santos.

Santos’ mother said they arrived at the NBI at around 2 p.m.

She reiterated that her daughter is innocent.

She also said it would have been unlikely that a relative gave the information leading to her daughter’s arrest and suspects that it was somebody, who she recently got acquainted with in Manila, who did it.

She added her daughter was planning to present herself to the authorities if the petition for review they filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) would be resolved.

She also said that Bella Ruby also kept on calling them, but refused to tell them where she was. Erejano said that her daughter would call to check how she and the family were doing.

“I know my daughter and her boyfriend are innocent of the crime in fact I was at the house of my daughter at February 8, 2011 when Ellah Joy was reportedly missing,” Erejano said in Cebuano dialect.

Joint motion

The defense team asked Judge Ester Veloso of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 6 to inhibit herself from the case if she fails to examine the merits of their joint motion for reconsideration and other reliefs filed.

Lawyer Ronel Ubod, one of their counsels, said Griffiths and Santos are not satisfied with the decision of the court dismissing their Omnibus Motion on the grounds of being “moot and academic.”

“Thus, the Honorable Court should have resolved the Omnibus Motion on its merits and not on a mere perceived technicality for being moot and academic,” motion reads.

Ubod said the court should not use “moot and academic” as basis in disregarding other issues raised by the accused in their Omnibus Motion.

He added the court cannot also declare that they cannot act on the plea of the accused by directing Dr. Nestor Sator and Sr. Supt. Louie Oppus to furnish them a copy of the DNA test result.

Ubod said the defense team requested the parties to furnish them a copy but four months lapsed and no copy was furnished.

“Based on the continued refusal by the State to furnish the accused with the DNA result and the UK communication, it seems the State as planning to suppress evidence favorable to the accused and persecute rather than prosecute Santos and Griffiths,” motion reads.

The blood stain found inside the vehicle of Santos was submitted by the police for DNA examination after they suspected it was from the victim.

Petition for bail

Villagonzalo said they will file a petition for bail.

However, he said if the court will grant their motion for reconsideration that would mean there is no more case against Santos and there would be no need to file a petition for bail.

He added they will make sure Santos will be safe wherever she would be detained.

“If there will be threats against Santos that can endanger her life like in Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) we will immediately file the necessary pleadings in court for the transfer of detention cell,” Villagonzalo said.

Capitol security consultant Retired Col. Cesar Veloso, however, said Santos will be safe at CPDRC.

“I’ll assure no one can harm her, if dili siya magminaldita (bad-mannered) inside the jail,” Veloso said.

Veloso said there are at present 59 female inmates inside the CPDRC.

Reward

The informant who provided thje information that led the arrest of Santos in Manila last Friday will be getting a total of P350,000 as reward.

This was announced by Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday after meeting with NBI-7 Director Villarta and Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Sr. Supt. Patrocinio Comendador.

Villarta reported that there was and informant who tipped their agent resulting to the arrest of Santos.

Garcia said that a sub-committee of the Cebu Provincial Anti-Criminality Task Force will be conducting validation process and will submit their recommendation to her for approval and the date when to give the reward will be set.

Garcia said she will be the one to give the reward if the informant wishes to see her.

The Capitol provided P300,000 from its tipster and reward program in addition to the P50,000 the CPPO raised to reward anybody who could help find Santos.

Garcia was out of the country but she was informed by Villarta and Comendador when Santos was arrested.

 “My first words were Thank God. I thank God that the long arm of the law finally caught up with Bella Ruby,” Garcia told reporters.

Garcia said that for Santos to evade the warrant of arrest really shows she was with impunity really trying to evade the law.

 “Dili mana mahimo pud, if you were innocent, nganong dili man ka motubag, nganong magtago-tago man ka,” Garcia said.

Garcia commended the NBI while the Provincial Board also passed yesterday the resolution sponsored by Board Member Arleigh Jay Sitoy also commending the NBI-7.

 “This august body commends the painstaking efforts of the National Bureau of Investigation that led to the capture of Bella Ruby Santos,” the resolution said.

While the amount of P350,000 will only go to the informant, Garcia said she, “we will reward the NBI in other ways.”

“We live in a society governed by laws. The law must prevail in order to secure justice,” Garcia added.—with Gregg M. Rubio/NLQ (FREEMAN)