Regencia case slated next week in Manila

By Nora C. Sorino, Iligan Bureau Chief
and Tomasita Asequia, Correspondent

Iligan City — In a statement to media yesterday, former Representative Vicente Belomonte, Jr. said the hearing of re-elected Mayor Celso Regencia frustrated murder case is scheduled on July 13 and it will in Quezon City.

Belmonte added they are doing their best for the said schedule to push through.

To recall, Regencia is currenlty detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology at Tipanoy, here, for allegedly masterminding  the ambush of the convoy of Belmonte on Dec. 11, 2014.

However, lawyer Vol-taire Rovira when asked about the matter he answered that they have filed  petitions with the Supreme Court for the hearings on Regencia’s cases should be here in the city.

“It should not be in Initao at Branch 44 where Judge Marisa Estabaya presides,” said Rovira. He added that until there is no reply from the Supreme Court, the scheduled hearing should not take place and he is praying for that to happen.

He said the mayor also has a lawyer to take care of matters on that end even as he said Atty. Leo Zara-goza has also left for Manila in connection with Regencia’s case.

Ealier, Regencia was heard on air during the occasion of the oath taking of the city officials which included  the vice mayor Jemar Veracruz  and 10 of the councilors who ran under his ticket, saying among other things, that he had nothing  to do with the ambush of Belmonte. If he has one who masterminded, Belmonte should now have been a “cadaver” saying in the Cebuano term as kalabera. He would have been such, a long time  ago, Regencia said thereby implying that if he were the one behind such act he could not have spared Belmonte.

He also added that if that was the case he was alleging that the then congressman had to be dispossed of as he (Belmonte) was a threat to his (Regencia’s ) ambitions to run again as mayor.

“If such was a case,” Regencia said, “why did he withdraw from the mayoral race?”

To note, initially filed for candidacy for mayor in the for, he said, security reasons as the others involved in the ambush are still at large.

Then vice mayor Ruderic substituted for Belmonte  as candidate for mayor with running mate, then councilor Provedincio Abragan , Jr.. Most of the outgoing councilors also ran for re-election. Marzo, Abragan and majority of the candidates under said tickets suffered defeat, with the exception of Queenie Belmonte and Frederick Siao. The latter though filed as independent for the position of the representative of the lone district of this city, who won over former Rep. Alipio Badelles who ran under Regencia’s ticket.

Belmonte said that the mayor’s statements “speak of desperation.” The evidence against him is (overwhelming), Belmonte said. Those implicated, he said had “payrolls” at city hall as they were in “job orders” at city hall.

On June 30 the new city official from the vice mayor and 11 of the winning city councilors took their oaths from Execution Judge Albert Abragan of the Regional Trial Court in Lanao Norte.

It was learned that Regencia himself, as re-elected city mayor took his oath earlier in May, at the Tipanoy this city jail, also from Judge Abragan.

Many of those who witnessed the oath taking at the Buhanginan Hills at the Anahaw Amphitheater where the city’s legislative and executive buildings are located, were wearing red, the color of mayor’s team.