CA denies cop’s
petition
to stop
airing of his arrest
THE Court of Appeals has denied the petition by a Makati City police officer to stop a television network from airing footages of his arrest for extortion over a drug case in August 2008.
The CA’s Special 14th Division affirmed the order of the Quezon City RTC which allowed the public affairs program Imbestigador to show footage on the arrest of Chief Insp. Arwen de Silva Nacional in an entrapment operation.
The appellate court said Judge Reynaldo Daway did not commit abuse of discretion when he denied Nacional’s petition to issue a temporary restraining order.
The CA also junked Nacional’s contention that he has a clear right to his dignity, and that such right should be given more importance over the right of the public to information as against his constitutional right as an accused.
The CA said the footage of Nacional’s arrest does not undermine his right to be presumed innocent until proven otherwise including his right to a fair and impartial trial as well as custodial rights.
It said Nacional’s fear that the video showing his arrest would subject him to trial by publicity is unfounded because the TV episode did not pry into the proceedings in the trial court.
Nacional, former head of the Makati Anti-Drug Abuse Council (MADAC), was caught in the act of receiving marked P20,000 bills from a female complainant in August 2008.
Complainant Lyza Alano was one of four women arrested by Nacional and his team on August 27, 2008 during a raid in a suspected drug lair in Makati.
The raid was without a search warrant and despite no evidence of a drug activity, Nacional allegedly demanded P150,000 from Alano and her three female companions in exchange for dropping the charges and the return their belongings.
After they shelled out P103,000, the complainants reported Nacional’s extortion activity to the Imbestigador office.
Upon learning that Nacional was waiting for the delivery of the balance in the amount of P47,000, Imbestigador coordinated with the NBI which planned the entrapment. – Evangeline de Vera
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