“They have their private lawyers already,” PCG spokesman Lt. Cdr. Armand Balilo told GMA News Online in a text message.
The two, Coast Guard Commanding Officer Arnold Dela Cruz and Seaman First Class Mhelvin Bendo, have lawyered up after a Cagayan court ordered their arrest for obstruction of justice in connection with the death of Hung Shih-cheng in disputed waters in May 2013.
The warrants were issued by the Municipal Trial Court Branch 11 in Sta. Ana, Cagayan.
The judge set the bail at P12,000 each, which can be posted in any trial court in the Philippines, Navera said.
However, when asked if the two have posted bail, Balilo said he was not aware of Dela Cruz and Bendo’s current status with the law.
“I have no information of their whereabouts,” he said.
The charges against the two stemmed from the alleged falsification of Dela Cruz’s unit’s monthly gunnery reports “in order to reflect a smaller amount of ammunition used during the shooting incident,” according to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which investigated the case.
Charged along with the two were SN1 Marvin Ramirez and LTJG Martin Bernabe.
Apart from obstruction of justice charges, separate cases of homicide have also been lodged against Dela Cruz, Bendo and six other PCG men.
Hung, 65, was killed on May 9, 2013 in the Balintang Channel near the Luzon Strait when Coast Guard personnel opened fire after he allegedly tried to ram a Philippine vessel with his boat. — BM, GMA News
