Three police officials facing a string of cases before the Office of the Ombudsman, filed complaints against two witnesses who testified against them, for perjury in connection with the raid on the Montilla ancestral house in Pulupandan, Negros Occidental, on May 2, 2013.

The respondents who are facing complaints before the Bago City Prosecutor's Office, were identified as Deolito Morancil, a security guard, and Jimmy Castaños, a caretaker of the Montilla ancestral house in Barangay Ubay Pulupandan.

Complainants Senior Supt. Jose Mario Espino, Supt. Mario Baquiran and Supt. Marlu Conag claimed in their joint complaint affidavit that Morancil and Castaños executed separate affidavits and subscribed it before Romel Gabuya on August 23, 2013 in Bago City, Negros Occidental.

The sworn statements were also used in the filing of cases against Espino, Baquiran and Conag, before the Office of the Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices in Quezon City in May 2015.

Morancil was employed by the E and R Security Agency and assigned at the ancestral house, while Castaños was employed as caretaker of the fruit bearing tress in and out of the house, their affidavits showed.

The statements of Castanos and Morancil said that they “saw Baquiran pulled out a blue box from his chest pack. Inside the blue box, Baquiran got two small cylindrical objects that look like green cans of Ligo sardines, and immediately placed them on the bed in front of us.”

In a joint complaint affidavit, however, the complainants said the explosives were inside an orange plastic package when it was first discovered by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, dismissing the claims of Morancil and Castanos as “pure lies”.

According to the complainants, PO3 Butch Domingo, who was tasked to take the video of the search, said in his affidavit that the orange packet containing explosives were found inside a rectangular box at 6:25 a.m. of May 2, 2013.

The complainants added that the statements of Domingo, Balunes, PO2 Jerry Payot, PO2 Irvin Delfin, PO2 Jim Balunes, and Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz clearly show that the explosives were found early in the morning and not “planted at around 11:30 in the morning” as alleged by Castaños and Morancil, who were accused of possessing the explosives, records show.

To be liable for perjury, there must be a statement or affidavit upon a material matter under oath; it must be made before a competent officer authorized to receive and administer such oath, willful and deliberate assertion of falsehood, and the sworn statement containing the falsity is required by law, the joint complaint affidavit said.

Castanos and Morancil, among others, were cleared by the Department of Justice of complaints for illegal possession of firearms and obstruction by the Department of Justice.*SGG

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