Thursday, October 11, 2007 Village chief, sarge given more time to answer court By Rhodamae M. Hernandez
THE barangay captain accused of killing his wife, and an army sergeant, who faces charges of obstructing justice together with the barnagay official, were given until October 15 to file their counter-affidavits on the accusation lodged against them by the Marilog Police.
Tamugan barangay captain Renie Lim, who is now detained at the Maa City Jail, and Sergeant Ernesto Tabaniag, a member of the 73rd Infantry Battalion, and a resident of purok 2, sitio Maligaya in Malagos, Baguio district sought an extension and was granted their motion by City Prosecutor Victoriano M. Bello Jr.
The two were charged based on the complaint made by PO3 Rene Jomoc Sulamin of the Marilog police.
In an affidavit, Sulamin said he received a message from their station commander, Sr. Insp. Paterno Macas, last July 6, 2007 about Lim having arrested some men who were smoking marijuana.
He, thus, went to the barangay hall in Tamugan to fetch the suspects. As the suspects were endorsed to him, Tabaniag even accompanied the suspects identified as Ronnie Tecson, Roderick Alforque, and Roel Baluran.
He also got the dried marijuana leaves seized from the suspects and prepared the affidavits of apprehension for Lim and Tabaniag.
However, on the designated time they were to meet at the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory, Lim and Tabaniag did not show up and also did not have their affidavits subscribed at the City Prosecutor's Office.
When he returned to work after two days, still Lim and Tabaniag had not signed the inventory of the seized items and that he was only told that Lim had surrendered to the police for his parricide case. Because of all these, however, the filing of a case against the drug suspects has been unduly delayed.
