By Miriam G. Desacada
Palompon Leyte-The barangay chairman of Manlawaan in Tabango, Leyte yesterday filed at the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office a criminal complaint against Rep. Richard “Goma” Gomez (4th district, Leyte), Tabango town Mayor Jonathan “Benjo” Remandaban, and more than ten others including top officials of the CIDG for conspiracy of grave coercion and grave threats, among other violations of related laws.
Albert Morilla, Manlawaan brgy head, in his complaint-affidavit, said that he is acting in behalf of Darlito Sevilla Nuñez (Darlito for brevity), a barangay resident, who asked for his help and representation, via a special power of attorney (SPA), in filing the criminal complaints against these powerful and influential people.
Darlito alleged that he was visited, three times, by CIDG regional personnel who coerced and intimidated him, later with alleged offers of money, in exchange of executing a sworn affidavit implicating former congressman Vicente “Ching” Veloso (3rd dist. Leyte) as the mastermind in the killing of Darlito’s brother, Anthony, in 2016.
Darlito said he was offered a livelihood in Manila, 24-hour security, and P5 million as payment for the demanded sworn affidavit against Ching. This prompted Darlito to seek Morilla’s help to identify the CIDG men who visited him with the incredible demand and offers of remuneration.
Days after, Morilla showed Darlito photos with names of CIDG regional agents for him to identify who among them visited him thrice in his house. Darlito identified Police Executive Master Sergeant (PEMS) Samson Picardal, Patrolman Fernando Songalia Jr, and eight others, named only as John Does—all belonged to the CIDG regional offices in Tacloban and Ormoc cities.
Further, Darlito’s daughter, Aida Nuñez, also narrated that she was asked, twice this year, to meet Tabango Mayor Benjo Remandaban who allegedly offered her P1 million last August, and then raised to P5 million in September, purportedly in exchange of her father’s affidavit to revive the murder case of Anthony, while implicating Ching as the mastermind in the killing.
Aida added that Benjo told her that it is Rep. Richard Gomez who will pay the amount, and will take care of everything for her and her family. Her Facebook account was also given to lawyer Rem Beryl Veloso, son of San Isidro (Leyte) Mayor Remedio Veloso, apparently to sustain the contact or communications later on.
Subsequently, lawyer Rem kept on messaging Aida for three consecutive days in September, asking her to convince her father Darlito to execute the affidavit pointing at Ching as the mastermind in the 2016 killing.
The Nuñez family, however, rejected the offers of the CIDG, Benjo, Goma, and Rem, but later on, Darlito went to Morilla and confided to him that he and his family were scared and bothered by these events. In turn, Morilla vowed to help them, thus the filing of the complaint for alleged conspiracy of coercion, intimidation, and threats against these influential and powerful people.
The criminal, civil, and administrative cases were filed by Morilla, via an SPA from Darlito, against Goma, Benjo, Rem, and CIDG officers Picardal, Songalia and eight others, including CIDG regional director P/Colonel Arwin Tadeo.
Morilla’s complaint-affidavit was subscribed and sworn on Wednesday (Oct. 23), and received by prosecutor Serafin Ramento IV, who will soon be conducting preliminary investigations on the case at hand.
However.,Gomez dismissed allegations as all hearsays and politically motivated.While Col.Tadeo in a phone interview refused to give comment as he has yet to receive the copy of the case from the National Prosecution Service Office of Palompon.
—-Miriam G. Desacada