3 wanted kin of Ecija town mayor arrested

PANTABANGAN, Nueva Ecija , Philippines  â€“ Three relatives of this town’s Mayor Lucio Uera, who were reportedly wanted for murder and homicide, were arrested in a police operation here on Friday.

Regie Uera and his brothers, Rogel and Carlos, were arrested in Barangay Malbang, according to Chief Inspector Roger Sebastian, chief of provincial police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Team (CIDT).

Regie and Rogel were detained at the CIDT jail in the old provincial capitol in Cabanatuan City, while Carlos managed to post bail and was released Saturday night.

Sebastian said Regie and Rogel were tagged as the town’s number one and three most wanted men, respectively. He said Carlos, a close-in security aide of Mayor Uera, had been hunted since almost a decade ago.

The CIDT chief said Carlos resurfaced after Uera won in the last May elections over his rival, re-electionist mayor Romeo Borja Sr.

Sebastian said the suspects’ arrests were based on warrants issued by two separate courts of San Jose City.

The warrant for Carlos’ was issued in October 2004 by former Judge Joselito Cruz-Villarosa, while that for Regie and Roel were issued by Judge Cynthia Martinez-Florendo in June 2011.

A bail of P60,000 was recommended for the provisional liberty of Carlos, who was facing homicide charges, while no bail was recommended for Regie and Roel who were charged with murder.

 The arresting team was actually running after Carlos and another brother Jetolyo, but they chanced upon Regie and Rogel.

The suspects reportedly tried to escape but were eventually arrested after a brief chase.

Rogel denied he was a relative of Mayor Uera, saying they just have the same surnames. He claimed he was just a fall guy and denied the charges against him.