|
The immediate release of the former military man who was arrested
for his alleged participation in the Rizal Commercial Banking
Corporation (RCBC) bank robbery slays in Cabuyao, Laguna has been
sought by his family, friends and neighbors, saying that Ricardo
Gomolon is just a “fall guy”.
Residents of Barangay 31, Southside, Makati
City, has poured their support by preparing a signed petition
vouching for the 39-year-old Gomolon, a former Army corporal whom
National Capital Regional Police Office (Ncrpo) operatives arrested
on May 24.
Barangay councilor Luis Canceran, who claimed to
have witnessed Gomolon’s alleged illegal arrest, said they are
prepared to testify in court to prove “Edgar’s” innocence.
“We won’t be risking our lives here if we
know Edgar has done something as horrible as that massacre. He has
no criminal record and he doesn’t even have enemies in the
neighborhood. People here like him because he’s a jovial and
respectful person, who often lends a hand to anyone in need,” said
Canceran in a press conference held at the office of the
barangay’s Consular Water Service Cooperative.
The barangay official added that Gomolon worked
as a plumber and an “all-around” man in the cooperative, aside
from being a volunteer barangay watchman at night.
Gomolon’s team leader, Mercedes Dacion, said
that it is impossible that the former was in Laguna when the RCBC
robbery took place on May 16, because they were together in
Guadalupe, Makati from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. that same day.
“Gomolon returned with me in the village
afterwards and even reported for work that night,” Dacion told The
Manila Times.
To prove Gomolon’s presence in the village on
May 16, Dacion, Canceran and the suspect’s wife Leah showed
photocopies of Gomolon’s signatures in the barangay security
logbook from May 13 to 20 to the reporters.
“We sympathize with the families of the
victims of the (RCBC) robbery, they deserve justice as much as
Edgar. But it is so wrong to accuse someone who is innocent,”
added Edith Lauriaga, a board director of the barangay cooperative.
Lawyer Jose Solis, Gomolon’s counsel, said
they have filed a motion to quash the information before the Binan,
Laguna Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 24, where the suspect is
set to be arraigned for a charge of robbery with multiple homicide.
“There was no preliminary investigation ever
conducted on Gomolon, only an inquest referral by the PNP Task Force
RCBC, which was filed two weeks after the crime. He was never
accorded the due process of law,” Solis explained.
Aside from robbery and multiple homicide
charges, Gomolon is also charged with illegal possession of firearms
before the Makati Municipal Trial Court Branch 64 in connection with
the unlicensed revolver allegedly taken from his possession at the
time of his arrest. Ncrpo chief Geary Barias declared the RCBC
robbery-slay solved after a nine-year-old girl positively identified
Gomolon as one of the robbers.
-- Jayson Cruz
|
