Wife says murder warrant for son, not for husband

CEBU, Philippines — The wife of a 61-year-old senior citizen in Minglanilla, Cebu who was arrested while securing a police clearance last Monday said it is their son and his namesake, not him, who was accused of murder.

In a Facebook post last night, Minglanilla Mayor Rajiv Enad, though, said that the warrant was indeed issued for "Salvador Tapic Paragoso," whom Minglanilla police arrested at the police station by virtue of the alias warrant of arrest for murder.

Enad earlier ordered the town’s lawyer and Tungkop Barangay Captain Jerome Bambi Cabiles to investigate and get more information about Tapic Paragoso’s arrest, which was alleged as a case of missing identity.

Tapic Paragoso, 61, was at the Minglanilla Police Station around 1 p.m. last Monday, supposedly to secure a police clearance. Instead, he was arrested because his name received a "hit" as having an active warrant of arrest when counterchecked with the police database.

"Anng warrant of arrest gi-issue niadtong August 12, 2020 para ni Salvador Tapic Paragoso, nga mao ang amahan ug maoy gidakop sa Minglanilla Police," Enad said.

"Gibutyag ni Barcelisa Colaljo Paragoso, 52, asawa ni Salvador, nga ang iyahang anak nga si 'Salvador Colaljo Paragoso' ang nakasala ug dili iyahang bana," hje added.

Lt. Col. Gerard Ace Pelare, Police Regional Office (PRO)-7 spokesperson, also said the Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO) is likewise investigating the incident.

“They are conducting an investigation and if there will be new developments I'm sure there will be adjustments…. Dili man ta ganahan nga naay tawo nga walay sala nga maoy mapriso," he said.

"There will be an investigation about that if there is neglect, naa bay malice. But the initial information that we got from the chief of police (of Minglanilla) is that ang pangalan sa warrant is walay indicator, walay 'Jr.', walay 'Sr.', and the ID being shown wala say 'Jr.' or 'Sr.',” he added.

According to the Minglanilla police, the warrant did not specify if the "Salvador Tapic Paragoso" it refers to is a "Jr." or a "Sr.", which was also the case of the identification card Tapic Paragoso showed.

The prompted the issuer to refer the matter to the police warrant server, who then consulted with Police Captain Kalvin Jomari Golitod, the Minglanilla Police Station chief.

Golitod, who was provided with a printout of the warrant of arrest for murder, also checked with the Provincial Investigation and Detection Management Unit (PIDMU).

In a press statement posted on Facebook, it was then that Minglanilla Tracker Team, headed by Golitod, arrested Tapic Paragoso inside the Minglanilla Police Station at around 1:50 p.m. last Monday.

"Sa pagsusi sa mga dokumento niini, nakadiskobre nga aduna siyay Unserved Alias Warrant of Arrest, nga gi issue sa Regional Trial Court 7th Judicial Region sa Cebu City, with Criminal Case No. 89457, nga may petsa sa Agosto 12, 2020,” it added.

The warrant was issued by Regional Trial Court-Branch 7 Presiding Judge James Stewart Ramon E. Himalaloan.

“Sa amin valid po ang arrest po namin. Meron tayong warrant of arrest at nag-match po siya doon sa identity niya na nakalagay doon sa warrant of arrest,” Golitod said, in an interview.

Netizens, though, reacted negatively on the arrest.

“Bador siya dili na siya Bodoy..! Maski asa ka mangutana dili na siya si Bodoy..! Sala sa anak dili amahan ang mobayad ..!,” read one post on the Minglanilla Police Station Facebook page.

Based on Paragoso Sr.’s police mugshot, it stated that his alias is “Bodoy”, which the netizen said is that of his son, while that of Paragoso Sr. is "Bador."

“Mayor unta matabangan ni nimo Mayor misidentity ra gyud ni. Tarungon unta ug investigate sa mga kapulisan sa Minglanilla. Ang anak ang nakabutang sa warrant pero ang amahan na hinuon ang gidakop. HUSTISYA PARA NI NOY BADOR!!,” netizen Raquel Cantiveros also said.

According to the police, Paragoso was one of two persons involved in an "ice pick throwing" incident in July 2010.

Two persons were charged over the incident, but the court dismissed the case, declaring them innocent of the offense.

But one of them, "Salvador Tapic Paragoso,” did not attend the case hearings, prompting the judge to issue an arrest warrant against him.

“Na-serve po ito (warrant of arrest) pero hindi po nila nahanap yung suspect… Ito po yung hawak namin ngayon ay 'alias warrant of arrest,' pangalawang issue na ito ni court” Golitod said. — (FREEMAN)