Warrants out for 4 NBI men, 3 confidential agents

CEBU — The Mandaue City Regional Trial Court has ordered the arrest of four of five National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents and three of several confidential agents charged with multiple frustrated murder and double attempted murder for a botched drug operation that nearly killed six innocent resort workers last December.

Judge Ulric Canete signed the other day the arrest warrants against NBI agents Danilo Garay, Teodoro Saavedra, Arnel Pura and Rey Tumalon and confidential agents Joey Cal, Ric Cruz and Eric Ayag.

The warrants have been mailed to the NBI, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and the Cebu City police.

Similar warrants against another agent, Angelito Magno, and confidential agents Paul Lauro, Allan Magallon, Noe Dimaunahan and David Pantano were held in abeyance pending resolution of their motion for reduced bail.

A P200,000 bail was recommended for each of the accused.

Aside from filing criminal charges in court, the Office of the Ombudsman also dismissed the agents from the service, forfeited all their benefits and barred them from ever holding public office.

Last Dec. 13, the NBI agents mistook the van carrying Plantation Bay workers Michael Monsod, Nenette Castillon, Gian Carlo Cajoles, Esther Luz Mae Gregorio, Donaldo Enabe and Alfie Fernandez as that being used by a drug lord.

The agents earlier had arrested a woman who told them that her drug supplier would be in a Mitsubishi L-300 van. When they saw a similar van, the agents flagged it down in Looc, Mandaue City.

But because of the NBI agents’ number, their lack of identifying marks and the unholiness of the hour (2 a.m.), the resort workers thought they were about to be robbed and sped away.

The agents gave chase and fired at will at the fleeing van with a wide array of high-powered weapons, finally disabling the van several kilometers away in Cebu City.

But even after the van had stopped, the agents continued firing. The van had at least 73 bullet holes. Witnesses described the incident as a "near-massacre." — Freeman News Service