Cañete cleared from firearm possession case

CEBU, Philippines - The Municipal Trial Court in Cities has cleared Dr. Paulus Mariae Cañete from a criminal case for illegal possession of firearms after the prosecution failed to prove his guilt.

Lawyer Vicente Fernandez, legal counsel of Cañete told The FREEMAN that Judge Carlos Fernando of MTCC Branch 2 of Mandaue City rendered his decision yesterday at 8:30 a.m.

Cañete was arrested in May 8, 2008 for illegal possession of a .38 cal. revolver when he was allegedly about to hand over the firearm to a man.

He was released from police’s custody after posting P60,000 bail.

Fernandez said his client was accused of hiring the services of Gavino Cabahug, an electronics technician, to steal documents from Mandaue City College (MCC), burn the school and kill Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes.

These, however, are devoid of any facts, added Cañete’s legal counsel.

Cabahug was one of the witnesses for the prosecution. However, Fernandez said that based on the court ruling, the prosecution failed to establish that Cañete was indeed in possession of the firearm.

The lawyer said that eventhough they just relied on the mere denial and the presumption of innocence, the court still ruled in favor of them because the prosecution failed to establish the guilt of his client.

Fernandez said Cañete and his family were happy of the decision.

They’re happy…at the end of the case, he (Cañete) is not guilty of the offense charged,” he added. —/NSA (FREEMAN)