City Kagawad Danilo Bantugan strongly denied last Monday that he went to the residence of the city barangay chairman whose house was raided by police operatives amid campaign against the illegal numbers game of swertres.
Bantugan took exception on the report that he was at the site where the raid was conducted last May 15 at the residence of Mansasa Barangay Captain Manolo Blanco.
He said that what he received was a phone call from City kagawad Oscar Glovasa narrating about the raid and the query regarding the issuance of a search warrant by a Cebu judge.
BANTUGAN
Bantugan clarified that his conversation with Glovasa was not meant in anyway to disrupt the raid. During an interview, he stressed that as a lawyer, it is part of his profession to attend to calls and queries on legal matters.
However, he considers cases on illegal gambling as like other cases where he, as a lawyer can become a counsel. "It is only drug-related cases I would decline to handle," the city kagawad said.
The statement of the city lawmaker was issued after he was reportedly perceived as one of the two lawyer kagawads who went to the residence of Blanco.
The public perception rose high after the city mayor publicly announced in his weekly radio program the day after the raid that he will provide the arrested barangay captain "the best lawyer," explaining that he will "not abandon a friend (Blanco)."
Blanco is one of the barangay captains identified and supported by the city mayor.
The raid resulted with the seizure of more than half a million pesos inside the residence of Blanco and assorted tally sheets used in the illegal numbers game operations.
The early morning raid surprised the barangay captain as the raiding team was composed of operatives from regional intelligence division (RID) based in Cebu City.
Col. Melvin Buenafe, told reporters that the PNP designed such raid after the regional PNP command heard of alleged protection extended to big-time swertres financiers from the local officials and the city police. - The Bohol Chronicle
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