Negros vice mayor, husband freed on bail

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Vice Mayor Ella Celestina Yulo of Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental and her husband Felix Mathias Segundo were freed on bail on Friday after almost seven months of imprisonment.

Regional Trial Court Judge Edgar Tupas granted the couple’s petition for bail and recommended P10,000 each, saying the evidence of the prosecution against them was not strong.

In a 12-page decision, Tupas noted that a witness and an explosives expert merely identified the two grenades allegedly seized from the couple.

The  Yulos were charged with illegal possession of firearms and explosives after two grenades and two guns were allegedly recovered from their Mitsubishi Strada, which was pulled over at a police checkpoint on Dec. 19, 2017.

The couple surrendered on Sept. 11, 2018. They claimed the guns and explosives recovered from their vehicle were planted.