The Sangguniang Bayan of Sibulan is offering P200,000 for information leading to the arrest of a drug suspect who escaped while in the custody of a town councilor.
The reward was offered after the Judge told Councilor Tony Renacia that if he is unable to produce the suspect, Renacia will be penalized with imprisonment of six months to two years for the charge of harboring a fugitive.
Renacia took the risk of signing the recognizance document of Lovella Arevalo Calingacion who was released on recognizance in April this year, but was rearrested on June 14, 2019, for allegedly sneaking in 25 grams of shabu at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Bajumpandan.
In a press briefing, Mayor Abiera said the P200,000 bounty will be sourced from local funds, saying he is aware of local government units that is doing the same. Their only purpose is to return Calingacion to the custody of the court.
Renacia, for his part, said he thought the suspect could not get escape from the law with her latest violation, only to find out that even the family of the suspect had facilitated for her escape.
Renacia said he will file a case of obstruction of justice against the parents of the suspect, Romeo Arevalo and wife Edna Monrubia Arevalo before the city prosecutor’s office.
With this experience, both Mayor Abiera and Councilor Renacia said they are now having second thoughts of becoming custodians to drug suspects who are out on probation, except when they are related by blood. (Juancho Gallarde)
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