BAIL GRANTED. Some of the nine cops facing murder charges for the death of Calbayog City Mayor Ronaldo Aquino walk outside a court in Samar province in this undated photo. The local court granted the petition of the accused to post bail on March 7, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Regie Malinao)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Calbayog City Regional Trial Court has granted P120,000 bail each to nine police officers accused in the 2021 murder of city Mayor Ronaldo Aquino and four others.
RTC Branch 31 Judge Maricar Lucero issued the order on March 7, 2023, a day before the second anniversary of the attack that killed Aquino, his two men and a civilian.
Lucero explained that bail is usually not granted to prevent the accused from committing additional crimes.
“The purpose of the bail is to guarantee the appearance of the accused at the trial, or whenever so required by the trial court,” the court order said, referring to the nine accused – Lt. Col. Harry Sucayre, Maj. Shyrile Tan, Capt. Dino Goles, Lt. Julio Armeza Jr., Staff Sgt. Neil Cebu, Staff Sgt. Edsel Omega, Staff Sgt. Randy Merelos, Cpl. Julius Garcia and Pat. Niño Salem.
The accused are also facing a frustrated murder case filed by another security aide, Mansfield Labonite.
The victims’ counsel, lawyer Alma Uy-Lampasa, expressed disappointment over the court’s order.
“On the second anniversary of their deaths today, these four souls seemed to die a second death. Despite (the) overwhelming evidence against the policemen accused, the judge rules to grant them bail, during (the) pendency of trial in the murder cases,” Uy-Lampasa said in a social media post.
On March 8, 2021, the mayor and his aides were heading to a family-owned resort to attend his son’s birthday party when they were ambushed along Labuyao Bridge in Lonoy village in Calbayog City.
Police, however, claimed that the incident was a shootout when the mayor’s team traded shots with operatives on board unmarked vehicles. (PNA)
