Villagonzalo joins prosecution team in Archival case

CEBU, Philippines - Lawyer Rameses Villagonzalo has formally filed his entry of appearance as private prosecutor in the multiple murder and frustrated murder charges filed against former officials of the Regional Highway Patrol Unit-7.

Villagonzalo told The FREEMAN that Paolo Cortes, on-call assistant of slain lawyer Noel Archival, sent him a letter requesting for his assistance.

“Yes, there is a letter request from Paolo,” Villagonzalo’s text message reads.

He said Provincial Prosecutor Pepita Jane Petralba has also given him authority to prosecute.

“The undersigned Provincial Prosecutor, Cebu Province, hereby authorizes lawyer Rameses Victorius G. Villagonzalo, private prosecutor in the case of multiple murder and frustrated murder filed before the court, to prosecute the aforesaid criminal case until terminated even in the absence of a public prosecutor, pursuant to Section 5 Rule 110 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure,” Petralba’s letter reads.

Villagonzalo will  be joining lawyers  Democrito Barcenas and Gloria Lastimosa-Dalawampu as private prosecutors.

Senior Superintendent Romualdo Iglesia  along with Chief Inspector Eduardo Mara, Senior Inspector Joselito Lerion, SPO4 Edwin Galan, and PO1 Alex Bacani, all former officials of the RHPU, were sued by the National Bureau of Investigation-7 over the ambush-slay of Archival, his driver Alejandro Jayme, bodyguard Candido Miñoza, and wounding of Paolo Cortes.

Acting Provincial Prosecutor Jesus Rodrigo Tagaan, however, dropped Mara and Galan from the charges for insufficiency of evidence.

Bacani is represented by lawyer Reynaldo Lugtu, Lerion by lawyer Inocencio dela Cerna and Iglesia by lawyer Joselito Frial.

On board a black Ford SUV, the victims were ambushed on February 18, 2014 at around 1 p.m. while on their way to Cebu City from Dumaguete attending a court trial. They were traversing Barangay Coro, Dalaguete, Cebu when the incident happened.

Only Cortes survived the attack. — (FREEMAN)