2 RPA men surface,
say Honeybee lied
But NBI has witnesses
to prove case: Lavin
BY CARLA GOMEZ

Two members of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade charged for the murder of Judge Henry Arles surfaced yesterday to deny their involvement in the crime and to file a complaint against the National Bureau of Investigation before the Commission on Human Rights in Bacolod for alleged harassment.

Marvin Salve, 42, vice commander of the RPA-ABB in southern Negros, and Gerald Tabujara, 35, a nephew of Cauayan Vice Mayor Jerry Tabujara, said they were being falsely accused by the NBI and have witnesses to testify that they were not at the scene of the crime when Arles was killed in Ilog town in the evening of April 24.

Salve also charged that “Honeybee”, a witness presented by the Arles family who implicated them in the crime, along with Ilog Mayor John Paul Alvarez, Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez Jr. and Vice Mayor Tabujara, is lying.

MANLA - President Benigno Aquino yesterday named a veteran judge as the first female chief justice of the Philippine Supreme Court, following his controversial ousting of her predecessor.

Supreme Court associate justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, 52, was named to take the place of ousted chief justice Renato Corona after he was impeached by Aquino's congressional allies in May amid a public feud with the president.

Aquino had sought the sacking of then-chief justice Corona, saying it was part of his anti-corruption reforms. But critics said he wanted to ensure his control of the court.

Despite the filing of charges against the alleged suspects linked to the death of Kabankalan Regional Trial Court Judge Henry Arles, the Task Forces Arles has not yet stopped its investigations, Senior Supt. Allan Guisihan, former provincial police director of Negros Occidental, said yesterday.

Contrary to reports, Guisihan, who is now the chief of the directorial staff of the Police Regional Office 6, said, Task Force Arles has not been deactivated.

Task Force Arles is composed of the PNP Legal Service and Crime Laboratory, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Investigation, Operations and Intelligence Branches of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office, including its police maneuver company, and the Kabankalan City and Ilog Police Stations.