NBI agents got ‘fall guys’ in twin slays

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna — The police director of Southern Tagalog has accused agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) of "intruding in our state of affairs" and arresting "fall guys" in the massacre of a family of four and in the killing of a doctor.

In a letter to NBI director Reynaldo Wycoco, Director Domingo Reyes said the meddling of the NBI agents in the two cases has placed the regional police in a "bad light."

"This might be perceived that the NBI is on top of the cases that transpired in our area of responsibility while we are doing nothing," Reyes said.

He was referring to the recent arrest of Mark Marfori of Calauan, Laguna by NBI agents led by lawyer Edmund Arugay, the bureau’s National Capital Region director, in connection with the May 11 slaying of Dr. Franklin Avellaneda, a consultant of the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City, inside the University of the Philippines-Los Baños campus.

The NBI has filed charges of robbery with homicide against three suspects in the Avellaneda killing. The local police also filed charges but against a different set of three suspects.

Meanwhile, agents of the NBI’s Cavite district office, led by lawyer Danielito Lalusis, arrested a police informant in Cabuyao and two others in Sta. Rosa on May 28 in connection with the massacre of four members of the Amarante family.

As in the Avellaneda case, the police have a different set of suspects who they are hunting down.

Reyes accused the NBI agents of conducting "fishing expeditions" to make it appear that the bureau was on top of all cases which the police are handling.

"Dampot sila ng dampot ng mga inaakala nilang suspek ng walang coordination sa amin (They pick up people who they think are the suspects without coordinating with us)," he said.

"Proper coordination by NBI agents would prevent untoward incidents from occurring, particularly encounters between two allied law enforcers," Reyes said.