(Published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 18, 2005, p. A19.)
NAVAL, Biliran - A band of seven men, mostly identified as bodyguards of the ruling Espina political family and wielding government-issued firearms, broke into an apartment rented by a Vietnamese businessman in the commercial district here on Monday [sic, on March 7, not March 14 as implied by the delayed publication] and ran away with P600,000 and US$800 in cash, mobile phones and cell cards.
Gov. Rogelio Espina said he regretted that the suspects betrayed his trust and made a farce of his community rehabilitation efforts for reformed penal offenders.
Police solved the robbery several hours after it took place since some of the suspects were easily identified because they were not wearing masks. They were captured in three hideouts in different towns.
Some P173,000 of the money and four cell phones were recovered, as well as the guns used in the robbery.
Arrested were Eugenio Nierras Corpin, a native of Biliran town; Sergio Corpin Azur, Martin Carbo Rocete and Nicomedes Azur, all of Barangay Binohangan, Caibiran; and Elijeo Rocete, Enrico Verotiao and Joseph Demate Piad, all of Villa Vicenta, Caibiran.
Corpin and Nicomedes Azur were reportedly in the government payroll as provincial jail guards. They have been released on parole from the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila.
Some of the seized firearms and getaway motorcycles belong to the provincial government, said a police officer, who requested anonymity. This was not mentioned in the police report, however.
The report said the victims, Cuong Luong and his Filipino wife Lily Rabasto-Luong, had just arrived at the apartment at around 7 p.m. from their dry goods store and cell phone center nearby when the robbers barged in.
among 7 robbers
(Published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 6, 2005, p. A20. Unknown to the writer until two months later, his March 19 follow-up dispatch of items with the governor's denial was published in Cebu Daily News and Bandera on March 21, 2005, one day before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan passed SP Resolution No. 42, Series of 2005. The prompt publication of the denial in an Inquirer-affiliated newspaper, which is routine for controversial issues like the robbery incident here, had rendered the condemnatory resolution moot and academic. Yet the official threat of harm and punishment implied in the word "condemn" remains [is this a libel suit, stoning, lynching, or perhaps, murder?]. At best, the resolution is "constitutionally-incorrect"; its documented threat continues to violate the writer's freedom of the press and freedom of movement right in his hometown and home province.)
NAVAL, Biliran - Gov. Rogelio Espina denied that the robbers who victimized a Vietnamese and his Filipino wife on March 7 were his bodyguards.
Espina, in a statement on March 18, said among the seven men, who were all captured several hours after the robbery, only one man named Eugenio Corpin was found to be an employee of the provincial government.
He added that none of the arrested robbers, including Corpin, worked as bodyguard of the Espina family.
Corpin was issued an appointment as security agent and was assigned to the Civil Security Unit as a guard at the capitol grounds, not as a jail guard as earlier reported.
At the time of his arrest, his appointment was still being processed by the provincial government, the governor said.
As security agent, Corpin was issued a 9 mm pistol, which was found in his possession during his arrest. It was the only item owned by the provincial government involved in the heist, contrary to an earlier report that stated that some of the seized firearms and getaway motorcycles used in the robbery belong to the provincial government.
The governor said that while it was true that he regretted the incident and even commended the police for their efforts, he felt betrayed just by Corpin. He said he gave Corpin a chance to be employed by the provincial government.
Rosana Solite, the supervising officer of the Biliran Parole and Probation Office, also said in the same statement that Corpin had never been a client of her office, contrary to the report that said Corpin and another suspect, Nicomedes Azur, were released on parole from the national penitentiary.
She concurred that Azur was a parolee but has since served his time.
- PDI Visayas Bureau