A fugitive of the law was finally brought to the court today by a municipal councilor who signed to guarantee her presence in court in April this year, after availing of the benefits of plea bargaining.
Lovella Arevalo Calingacion was brought to court by Sibulan Municipal Councilor Antonio Renacia, after her capture in a barangay of their town after the Sibulan Municipal Council offered a P200,000 reward for her capture.
Renacia had asked the court to release Calingacion with him as the guarantor, only to learn later that Calingacion had gone in hiding. As a result, Renacia could not produce Calingacion on the scheduled date of the hearing on July 5. He was given as Calingacion’s guardian until July 12 to produce her in court.
A breakthrough came when Calingacion was arrested in Barangay Balugo, Sibulan, at a house of allegedly owned by her lawyer. She was arrested by policemen in time for the deadline of the court for Renacia to bring her in person at RTC branch 30.
Calingacion was brought to the Negros Oriental Detention and Rehabilitation Center Thursday afternoon to start serving a two-year jail term for possession of illegal drugs.
As to the reward money of P200,000, Renacia said that Mayor Abiera had a meeting today with the finance committee to facilitate its release to the informant.
Meanwhile, the chief of the Parole and Probation Office here has advised custodians to thoroughly understand provisions of the recognizance law because their reputation could be at stake when a probationer is found violating such law.
The law provides a penalty of six months to two years imprisonment to a custodian who fails to produce the accused before the court.
City Chief Parole and Probation Officer Ma. Necita Marino issued the statement in reaction to a number of incidents where a probationer is re-arrested for committing the same offense, in most cases allegedly selling illegal drugs.
It is really the determination of a probationer to resist the temptation to commit an offense because the Parole and Probation Office no longer has the control in case a probationer who is released on recognizance violates the conditions for his or her release.
She cited the experience of one custodian who had to spend money, time and resources to find the accused in a faraway place, just to avoid going to jail.
There was also another case of a probationer Mark Macalipay of Barangay Calindagan in Dumaguete, who even reported to the Parole and Probation Office the day before he was caught allegedly selling drugs last July 4.
Upon the release of the person on recognizance to the custodian, the probation office is directed to monitor and evaluate the activities of the person released on recognizance on a monthly basis to determine whether or not the conditions for his release have been complied with.
Marino said the office is diligently providing probationers with all the benefits including a therapeutic community program geared towards rehabilitation, but has no control if they go back to their vices especially if they live in the community where illegal drugs proliferate, which will result in revocation of his or her probation.
She advised barangay officials to thoroughly trace the roots of the family of persons being recognized because of an undertaking that “you have to produce the accused whenever required by the court. (Juancho Gallarde)
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