Santiago City mayor gets SC reprieve

SANTIAGO CITY — The Supreme Court has issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) saving the mayor of this Isabela city from being arrested for a seven-year-old double murder case filed against him and prevented a repeat of the 1997 chaos here that saw clashes between his supporters and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) personnel.

The STAR has obtained a copy of the TRO dated July 28, barring the Court of Appeals (CA) from implementing an arrest warrant for Mayor Jose Miranda which the local Regional Trial Court (RTC) issued on Dec. 18, 2002.

Miranda allegedly went into hiding last year when a local judge ordered his arrest for the March 1996 killing of Elizer Tuliao and Vicente Bauzon supposedly over jueteng operations here.

Miranda is accused of masterminding the killings.

However, after two months, Anastacio Anghad, presiding judge of RTC Branch 36 here, nullified Miranda’s arrest warrant.

This prompted Tuliao’s father Virgilio to elevate the matter to the appellate court.

Last June 30, the CA "upheld and reiterated" the arrest of Miranda who, in turn, filed a petition for a TRO with the Supreme Court.

In his sworn statement, Rodel Naderal, one of the witnesses in the twin slayings, pointed to Miranda as the alleged brains behind the abduction and torture of Tuliao and Bauzon.

Naderal, originally one of the accused but who later turned state witness, claimed that he saw his colleagues in the local police burn the bodies of Tuliao and Bauzon in a ricefield in the outskirts of the city.

However, the policemen whom Naderal linked to the killings were later cleared of the murder charges filed against them.

This prompted Miranda to argue that their exoneration should automatically clear him from any involvement in the case.

In 1997, NBI agents had to disperse the barricades of Miranda’s supporters, destroy windows and burst through doors at City Hall to enforce a suspension order on the mayor. — Charlie Lagasca