Prosecutor in Garcia ambush case backs out

By: Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – The deadly ambush on the group of Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo of Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental is stuck in the prosecution phase after the assigned prosecutor inhibited from the case.

Yulo’s nephew Michael Garcia and her brother Mark Garcia were killed in the ambush that happened before the elections.

The mayor confirmed on Sunday that they sought the inhibition of Prosecutor Juliet Juen from the case, which was denied by Prosecutor Rodrigo Diaz.

Garcia- Yulo said they decided to elevate the inhibition plea to the Department of Justice until Juen submitted her inhibition letter on Sept 9, 2019.

The provincial prosecutor’s office has yet to assign a new prosecutor to the case.

In her manifestatio, Juen claimed that complainants Felix Yulo III (husband of the mayor), Marijo Garcia (wife of Mark Garcia), Barbara Garcia (mother of Michael Garcia) and Jefe Baladhay asked for her inhibition due to conflict of interest.

Juen said they received allowances from the municipal government under the term of former Mayor Magdaleno Peña who was tagged as mastermind of the ambush.

Yulo said in their letter to the justice department that Juen had been receiving P12,000 monthly allowance from Peña, while two Regional Trial Court judges in the town only received P8,800 month. The appropriation was approved by the Sangguniang Bayan.

Yulo was on the campaign trail when her group was ambushed.