Murder raps up anew vs. Serag, et al.
Serag
Ghosts from the past hounded anew a former Iloilo town mayor, lady vice mayor and eleven others following the reinstatement of murder raps in a celebrated killing three days before the 2001 elections.
Facing murder charge with no bail recommended, arrest order has been reissued on former San Joaquin Mayor Sebastian "Bastek" Serag. Meanwhile, bail was set at P200,000 for other co-accused including former San Joaquin Vice Mayor Marilyn Silfavan charged as accomplice to the killing. Brothers Teodorico, Vicente and Abraham dela Cruz who were named as accessories to the crime were also ordered to post the P200,000 bail. It was not immediately clear if same bailbond was set or arrest warrants issued on the other accused namely Lino Napao, Thomix Segumalian, Jose Oliver Segumalian, Rodolfo Talanquines, Roque Sanmillan, Edgar Sta. Cruz, Eleazar Sañol and Nemesio Panugot.
The latest legal maneuverings had the lower Court rule on a pending motion of government prosecutors to reinstate the information for murder in the death of then reelectionist Mayor Jesus Sibya. Said motion, The News Today (TNT) learned was filed before the defense team managed to appeal.
To recall, the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Resolution No. 258 dated May 20, 2002 downgraded the charges from murder to homicide and attempted murder to attempted homicide. The victim was with his personal driver Norberto Salamat III who was also wounded in the incident. An order then was also issued for the provincial prosecutor to amend the charges with the lower Court getting a copy of the controversial Resolution a week later.
Said DOJ change of heart got the accused out of jail particularly the former Mayor who was then in detention with the other principal accused at the Iloilo Rehabilitation Center (IRC).
The victim's wife who ultimately became town mayor filed a Motion for Reconsideration and filed an appeal before the Court of Appeals (CA).
Yet in succeeding legal battle with the accused freed on bail and former Mayor Serag even able to recently lodge a campaign for his reelection bid as San Joaquin mayor, another change of heart from the DOJ happened.
The DOJ in a November 18, 2002 Resolution reverted to the original charges of murder and attempted murder that again sparked some four years of legal exchange. Pool of noted criminal Ilonggo lawyers faced off with government prosecutors in a case that became a political issue for former Mayor Serag.
In an interview with Bombo Radyo, Serag said he will face the charges while lawyer Cornelio Panes, counsel for the dela Cruz brothers and former Vice Mayor Silfavan said his clients will post bail as ordered.
The Court of Appeals in a Decision last October 20, 2005 ruled that the Regional Trial Court "acted with inordinate and precipitate haste when it granted the Provincial Prosecutor's motion for the admission of the Second Amended Information for homicide, ordered the withdrawal of Criminal Case No. 926 for attempted homicide based on Resolution No. 258 of the DOJ Secretary, and arraigned the accused therein for homicide."