Senior Superintendent Roberto Rongavilla, Muntinlupa City police chief, said they have no recourse but to release Arnulfo Sarraga, 22, upon receipt of the order issued by City prosecutor Michelle Divina-Delfin, of the City prosecutor’s office.
Rongavilla said they are just awaiting Sarraga’s parents or relatives to fetch him before letting him go.
In defending her decision, Delfin argued that the case of Sarraga does not merit inquest proceedings because it was already almost a month old. "This case is not proper for inquest considering the circumstances of the case," said Delfin in her decision. But Delfin ordered Sarraga to present his side on the killing of Oliver Ong Dy, 35, during the preliminary investigation of the case on Sept. 19 and 23 at 2 p.m.
The Muntinlupa City police filed murder charges against Sarraga after a witness, Mauricio Batistiano, positively identified him as the one who ran after and stabbed Dy dead at Camella 2E subdivision in Bgy. Putatan last Aug. 14. Batistiano identified Sarraga during a police line-up at the Muntinlupa City police headquarters Monday.
Sarraga, a bartender of the Indo’s Strip Bar in Malate, Manila vehemently denied participation in Dy’s killing. "Hindi ako marunong mag-drive kaya’t imposible na ako ang pumatay sa kanya pagkatapos sumakay pa ng sasakyan para tumakas," Sarraga told policemen.
The STAR published Sarraga’s photo last week which prompted him to surface at the office of Sen. Alfredo Lim to clear his name. But when Batistiano identified him in a police line-up, Rongavilla read him his rights and threw him behind bars.
Rongavilla said the release of Sarraga does not mean that he won the first round of his court battle. "The prosecutor’s decision is only a procedural matter," Rongavilla said.