Abra mayor seeks fair probe of slay case vs solon’s son

TINEG, Abra -- Mayor Edwin Crisologo has called on Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera to be fair in the preliminary investigation of the murder case he filed against Ryan Luna, the son of Abra Rep. Cecilia S. Luna.

Crisologo accused Ryan Luna of conspiring to assassinate his wife, Brenda, during the counting of the ballots in the hotly-contested mayoral race in a school in Bangued.

Brenda was shot by a gunman and died more than a month later in a hospital in Quezon City.
In his letter dated Nov 9, Crisologo expressed surprise why records of NPS Case No. I-06 INV-091-00228 were brought to Manila from the office of Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Ely P. Reintar of San Carlos City, Pangasinan, who was originally assigned to conduct the preliminary investigation.

“Before Reintar could even start with the preliminary investigation of the case, the entire folder was pulled out from him unceremoniously without notice to me or nary a pleading filed by the respondent furnished me,” he complained.

Crisologo said his inquiry into the strange transfer of records led him to know that top officials of the Department of Justice (DoJ) in Manila ordered such transfer.

“Madame Secretary, I feel confident, though, that despite the unceremonious pulling out of the case from your regional office in San Fernando, La Union, justice and fairness would still prevail.

I put my entire trust and confidence in you as Secretary of Justice, as mother to your children and as wife to your husband, that through your unbiased dispensation of your powers as DoJ Secretary, you will assign another fair and just prosecutor who will conduct the preliminary investigation in lieu of Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Ely R. Reintar. Hopefully, the case will be allowed to come to its logical conclusion, which is to charge Ryan Luna for murder for being part of the conspiracy to kill my wife,” he told Devanadera.

Crisologo also told the DoJ secretary that another son of Rep. Luna, Mayor Jentrix Luna of Lagayan, Abra, harassed Abra Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Raphiel Alzate and Provincial Prosecutor Nestor Tolentino on November 12, 2008 and told them to file charges against him in spite of the absence of a preliminary investigation into the case filed against him. The prosecutors executed affidavits to prove that they were harassed and attacked by Jentrix Luna.

He informed Devanadera that Ryan Luna also slapped Tineg election officer Editha Domaoal to force her “to accept the transfer of registration of his brother, Cromwell S. Luna, to our municipality, for the latter to be able to run for public office despite the fact that he has no residency in Tineg.”

Crisologo said Rep. Luna has also been publicly saying that the murder complaint against Ryan “has been dismissed and there was nothing to worry about. I hope and pray that this is just an empty boast of a powerful woman.”