BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental’s Vice Mayor Ian Villaflor and Councilor Vincent Garcia, both charged with murder, have returned to their respective offices at the municipal hall after posting bail.
The murder charge was over the death of Councilor Jolomar Hilario in 2019.
Former councilors Jimmiedon Plaza and Morito Flores, similarly charged, have also posted bail.
The four each posted P200,000 and were subsequently ordered released by acting Presiding Judge Eric Anthony Dumpilo of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 64 on June 25, 2022.
Dumpilo approved their motion to bail after the lone witness recanted a testimony.
Both Villaflor and Plaza were previously detained at the National Bureau of Investigation Field Office in Bacolod City, while Flores and Garcia were detained at the Moises Padilla police station.
While jailed, both Villaflor and Garcia ran and won in the recent May 9 elections.
All the accused denied having a hand in the death of Hilario./PN
