Arrest of Cebu pastor illegal, says judge

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The court declared illegal the warrantless arrest of a pastor who was accused of killing his wife and ordered police to release him from jail Saturday.

Senior Superintendent Patrocinio Comendador, city police chief, said the court might have failed to appreciate the merits of the case against pastor Leonardo Jastiva Sr., as it granted the petition for habeas corpus filed by Jastiva’s daughter Gemalou Pitogo.

In a four-page order, Judge Gabriel Ingles ruled that Jastiva’s arrest had no “legal basis,” as the police did not comply with the requirements under the Rules of Court.

Despite the ruling, Ingles said police can still pursue the parricide case against Jastiva through a regular preliminary investigation.

Comendador said they have other options to support the legality of Jastiva’s arrest, including the filing of a petition for certiorari.

Jastiva, a pastor of the International Missionaries Society of the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement, was tagged in the killing of his wife Judith, whose body was found in Barangay Tabunan here last Feb. 18.

Judith’s body was recovered four to six days after she was supposedly kidnapped. Police found text messages in Jastiva’s cell phone that suggested that the abduction was made up to cover up for her killing.

Police said the text messages sent by the “kidnappers” turned out to have come from Jastiva’s own cell phone.