BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – After several months in hiding, the vice mayor and a Sangguniang Bayan (SB) member of Moises Padilla town in Negros Occidental voluntarily surrendered yesterday to Negros Occidental’s Vice Gov. Jeffrey Ferrer.
Vice Mayor Ian Villaflor and SB member Jimmie Don Plaza face murder charges for the death of town councilor Jolomar Hilario in 2019.
According to Renoir Baldovino, head of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) here, Villaflor and Plaza would be detained in their office while they file a Petition to Bail before the court through their legal counsel.
Ferrer, on the other hand, said Villaflor and Plaza called him and informed of their plan to surrender to him.
“For me they made the right decision so that they won’t be considered fugitives anymore. It would be up to the court to decide the charges against them based on evidence and witnesses,” Ferrer said.
He said Baldovino and the two officials’ lawyer, Atty. Elinore Garaygay, was present during the surrender of the two at his office yesterday morning.
The two have been issued with warrants of arrest by the court.
“They may have studied all the legal moves and aspects of their case that’s why it took them three months to surrender,” Ferrer added.
Ferrer said it is part of his advocacy to uphold the law at all times and that he is willing to facilitate others who are also facing charges and are willing to surrender to authorities.
The vice governor said it would be up to the court to decide if the case is indeed politically motivated as alleged or not.
The Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 63 in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental earlier ordered the arrest of 14 suspects in the Hilario case in March 2019.
The 12 others were former mayor Joselito Malabor of Isabela, Vincent Garcia, Felisa Flores-Villaflor, Jonathan Villaflor, Jose Morito Flores, Amy Locsin, Armando Cordero, Roel Bero Sarillo, Jason Ledio Abria, Raymond Estorca Gabitanan, Richard Gelonga Sarillo, Jr., and Joemer Salgado Pablo.
The warrants of arrest were issued by Judge Cyclamen Jison Fernandez, Presiding Judge of La Carlota City RTC, Branch 63 dated Feb. 15, 2021. The said murder cases are not bailable.
Hilario was running for re-election at the time of the murder.
Based on an official report by the Moises Padilla town police back in 2019, Hilario was sleeping when around 50 armed individuals on board three trucks arrived and broke inside the victim’s home identifying themselves as insurgents from the New People’s Army.
Hilario was shot multiple times. His wife and children were also threatened, although they were left unharmed./PN