A lawyer for a policeman implicated in the “missing sabungeros” case on Monday said he has asked the Department of Justice (DoJ) to subpoena the affidavits allegedly being withheld by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) which could help his client present a fair defense.
In a three-page letter to Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon dated 15 August, Bernard Vitriolo, lawyer of PSMS Joey Encarnacion said a fair indictment, in any case, should not be based on “cherry-picked evidence” at the discretion of a law enforcement agency like the CIDG.
“May I request your office to issue a subpoena duces tecum to the CIDG and for that office to turn over to your office the aforementioned relevant affidavits and for them to be considered in the evaluation of evidence towards a prima facie case against those who might be criminally responsible,” Vitiolo said in the letter.
“The undue suppression of these affidavits would also cause my client undue injury,” he told the DAILY TRIBUNE.
Those in the know
Vitriolo said the affidavits were executed by individuals claiming to know details of the “missing sabungeros” case.
In a recent statement, the CIDG admitted it had received the affidavits on 11 July but did not include them in the case folder now being evaluated by the DoJ, saying investigators had no part in preparing the documents executed by the affiants.
Vitriolo, however, maintained that the non-inclusion of the affidavits in the ongoing DoJ evaluation could substantially alter the outcome of the investigation.
“In these affidavits, it appears that the masterminds and perpetrators in the missing sabungeros case are no less than the Patidongan brothers themselves, including the whistle-blower,” Vitriolo said.