Detained ex-Aurora mayor freed

DINGALAN, Aurora – Detained former mayor Jaime Ylarde who is facing charges in connection with the May 2005 killing of newspaper publisher Philip Agustin is now a free man.

Highly reliable sources told to The STAR that Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 6 Judge Jansen Rodriguez ordered Ylarde, who has been detained at the Manila City Jail since three years ago, released Monday after Agustin’s daughter, Rosebelle Agustin-Cruz withdrew her complaint against the former mayor.

State Prosecutor Nestor Lazaro confirmed to The STAR that Agustin-Cruz indeed withdrew her complaint and even shed tears after telling her counsel, lawyer Michael Mella, that she was no longer interested in pursuing it. “Ayoko na (I’ don’t want it anymore),” whispered Rosebelle before Mella and Judge Rodriguez.

The court said it has no other recourse but to dismiss the murder complaint against Ylarde owing to Rosebelle’s withdrawal.

“That is their decision and we can’t do anything about it,” Lazaro said.

Ylarde’s release was only made public yesterday as it was apparently kept under wraps from reporters.     

The STAR could not get Rodriguez’s comments since there was no office during weekends.

A former police station commander of this town before he entered politics, Ylarde was tagged as the brains behind the killing of Agustin, publisher of Starline Times Recorder, who was gunned down shortly before midnight of May 10,2005 inside his daughter’s house in Barangay Paltic. Three others – Reynalo Morete, the self-confessed lookout, Nilo Morete and Manuel Alday, were also charged for the killing.

Nilo Morete and Alday are both at large.

The night he was killed, Agustin had delivered to this town 500 copies of Starline’s May 2-8, 2005 special edition detailing Ylarde’s alleged irregularities, including the construction of a cockpit arena, misuse of funds intended for relief, resettlement and rehabilitation of flash flood and landslide victims in this town. 

This reportedly angered the mayor, he allegedly ordered Agustin killed.

Ylarde has denied involvement in the killing and voluntarily turned himself in to the Baler RTC which originally handled the case. In July 2006, the Supreme Court ordered the transfer of the venue of the trial from the Baler 5 RTC Branch 66 to the Manila RTC.

The former mayor was not included in the original information filed by the prosecution panel, prompting Agustin-Cruz to file a motion for reconsideration.

Folowing his detention, his post was taken over by Vice Mayor Edgardo Galvez. Galvez lost to comebacking former three-term mayor Zenaida Padiernos in last year’s mayoral elections. 

While under detention, Ylarde ran unsuccessfully for vice mayor in last year’s elections.

Ylarde has long petitioned the court to grant him bail to no avail.

Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo said that Ylarde has not yet gone back to this town because from the Manila City Jail, he went straight to see his mother who is comatose.