Murder raps filed vs 6 RPA-ABB men, municipal employee

BACOLOD CITY  , Philippines  â€” The Department of Justice filed on Monday murder charges against seven suspects in the murder of Kabankalan City RTC Judge Henry Arles last year, his lawyer-daughter said yesterday.

Of the seven accused, six are members of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB), while another one was an administrative aide of the Ilog municipal government, said lawyer Ma. Estelita "Ria" Arles, who is now the lead counsel of the prosecution and spokesperson of the Arles family.

Charged before the Kabankalan City RTC were RPA-ABB members Jessie Daguia, Alejandro Capunong, Eddie Fortunado, Rustom Puro, Marvin Salve, and Gerald Tabujara, and municipal employee Emman Medes, she said, adding that the charges are non-bailable.

Arles, who received several awards from the Supreme Court as an outstanding judge, was gunned down by men riding in tandem along Barangay Manalad highway while on his way home in Ilog town on April 24, 2012.

The Arles family and the NBI filed murder complaints against 10 suspects, in July last year. But on May this year, the DOJ upheld the filing of the murder charges only against the seven respondents, but cleared three others who were prominent personalities: Ilog town Mayor John Paul Alvarez, his father Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez, and Cauayan town Vice Mayor Jerry Tabujara for "insufficiency of evidence."

The DOJ resolution was penned on November 19, 2012, but it was released only last May 6, or about five months after.

The Arles family had filed a motion for partial reconsideration seeking for a reversal of ruling that cleared the three officials, arguing that the same set of evidences and witnesses were presented for the three and the seven others.

Frank Britanico, brother-in-law of the slain judge, was once the spokesperson for the Arles siblings and their advisor. Now, Ria is the lead counsel and the spokesperson of the family, together with her brother, Philip Arles.

Ria said the motion for reconsideration is still pending at the DOJ, but all the seven suspects are now at-large. Daguia, Capunong, and Fortunado were earlier arrested and were put in the custody of the NBI in Manila, but the local courts in Bacolod ordered for their release upon bail.

Ria said she is hoping that the DOJ case can expedite the arrest of the suspects by authorities such as the NBI and the PNP.  (FREEMAN)