Capiz court junks murder raps vs "fugitive" mayor

CEBU, Philippines - A Capiz court has reportedly dismissed the murder case slapped against the "hiding" or "fugitive" elected mayor of Mambusao town.

The decision-handed down by Judge Domingo Casiple of the Regional Trial Court-Branch 21 of  Mambusao in Capiz-cited lack of evidence for the dismissal of the case against Mayor Leodegario ''Jun'' Labao.

Senior Superintendent Ulysses Caton, Capiz Police chief, however said his office has not received any official court order on the dismissal of the case.

Labao was tagged as the mastermind in the killing of Vice Mayor Abel Martinez of Mambusao, Capiz on May 4, 2012. He was accused along with four other suspects.

On April 10 last year, a warrant of arrest for murder, with no bail recommended, was issued against Labao, Geger Francisco, Roger Loredo, Staff Sergeant Rommel Pamotillo of the Philippine Army and Sonny Danid.

Francisco was later arrested in Quezon City, Loredo is now detained at the Iloilo Provincial Integrated Jail. Pamotillo was placed under military custody, while Danid surrendered to police authorities.

On April 14, the police, after being tipped off of his presence, almost collared Labao while in a "confidential" confinement at the St. Paul's Hospital in Iloilo City where he was scheduled for an angiogram supposedly the following day.

Members of the PNP Regional Intelligence Division went to the hospital at around 11 a.m. but the hospital administrator and the legal counsel asked policemen to wait for a while and calmly served the arrest warrant so as not to disturb the other patients.

Footage from the hospital's CCTV later showed the policemen waited at the hospital's Medical ICU at around 1:47 p.m., but by 2:04 p.m., two men and a woman were seen aiding Labao in escaping the hospital through a backdoor.

Despite an absentee mayoralty bet, Labao went on to win his electoral bid against Martinez's daughter.

However, since winning the mayoralty post, he did not report for work to this day, effectively evading arrest until the latest report that the court had dismissed the charges against him. (BANAT NEWS)