ILOILO City – The Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) set free a truck driver suspected to be a New People’s Army (NPA) commander due to the confusion over his identity.
The release of Baltazar Saldo, 54, of Barangay Sto. Angel, Dumalag, Capiz came a few hours after he was presented to the media on Monday morning.
Saldo was arrested on Sunday afternoon in Capiz.
During the media presentation, a masked witness identified Saldo as Virgilio Paragan alias “Hassan”, a former commanding officer of the Roger Mahinay Command, Komiteng Rehiyong-Negros.
Paragan was facing two attempted murder and two murder charges filed in various regional trial courts in Negros Island.
“I was convinced to present him because there was this witness pointing to him as the one whose name was indicated in the warrants of arrest (for two attempted murder and two murder charges),” explained Brigadier General John Bulalacao, PRO-6 director, on Tuesday afternoon.
Bulalacao said the witness was a son of a former rebel under the command of Paragan.
However, Saldo was released after appearing before the Kabankalan City Prosecutor’s Office; the fiscal was not satisfied with the statement of the police witness.
According to police reports, a relative of Paragan was at the prosecutor’s office when the suspect was presented and said Saldo and Paragan were not one and the same person.
Bulalacao said Saldo was released as the witness still needed to take more legal actions “to convince the fiscal to commit the suspect to jail.”
The witness was not among the complainants against Paragan.
Despite the confusion, Bulalacao said the situation was a “normal occurrence” in police operations.
“There is a witness and the police should act on it. Much more, the person has long been wanted and the police are eager to arrest him,” he said.
Meanwhile, Captain Cenon Pancito, Philippine Army’s 3rd infantry Division spokesperson, said yesterday that the Army would continue to go after the real Virgilio Paragan.
He also said the Army was on “stand by” for the witness to file necessary documents before the Kabankalan City Prosecutor’s Office.
“We will try to get more witnesses and investigate whether Saldo and Paragan are one and the same person, or it was indeed a case of mistaken identity,” he said.
Paragan was recommended by Police Regional 7 to be included on the “Directorate for Intelligence List of Wanted Persons.”
He was also elevated and listed under the Department of the Interior and Local Government and Department of the National Defense (DILG-DND) Joint Order on CNN (Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army-National Democratic Front)/Terrorist Wanted Person with A P1,050,000 cash bounty.
The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines. (PNA)
