Home 
Iloilo City — A former mayor who surrendered to police in connection with the murder of a broadcaster has filed a petition for bail, prompting members of the broadcaster's family to express fears for their lives.
Alfredo Arcenio, former mayor of Lezo, Aklan, turned himself in on Wednesday after he was tagged as the gunman in the 2004 killing of broadcaster Herson Hinolan and going into hiding.
Lou Tirol, Arcenio's lawyer, soon after filed a petition for bail for the ex-mayor at the Regional Trial Court Branch 7 here.
"My family and other witnesses would face greater risks if he is free," said Hinolan's widow in a telephone interview.
She urged the Department of Justice to block the ex-mayor's bail petition.
Witnesses tagged Arcenio as the lone gunman who repeatedly shot Hinolan outside a carnival in the capital town of Kalibo on Nov. 13, 2004.
Hinolan, station manager of dyIN Bombo Radio Kalibo, died from multiple gunshot wounds two days later.
Arcenio, a former intelligence officer and a sergeant under the Army's 47th Infantry Battalion, has repeatedly denied involvement in Hinolan's killing, claiming he was in Lezo, around 7 km west of Kalibo, at the time of the murder.
On March 31, 2005, the Aklan Provincial Prosecutors' Office charged Arcenio with homicide, allowing his release after posting bail.
But the charge was upgraded to murder by the DOJ after a re-investigation of the case.
On Sept. 7, 2006, the Kalibo RTC Branch 7 issued an order finding probable cause for murder against Arcenio and ordered his arrest.
Arcenio took a leave of absence as mayor before the arrest warrant was issued and has been at large until he surrendered. He has eluded arrest despite a massive manhunt and a P100,000 reward offered by the police for his capture.
Tirol said he filed the bail petition because the evidence against Arcenio is weak.
"Even if he is charged with a capital offense which is non-bailable, jurisprudence has allowed the granting of bail if the evidence against the accused is weak," Tirol said.
Tirol said the prosecution's case has been further weakened after one of the witnesses, Peter Melgar, recanted his earlier statement against Arcenio.
Melgar earlier said he saw Arcenio running after Hinolan and repeatedly shooting the victim.
Supt. Benigno Durana, Aklan police director, said the case against Arcenio remains strong despite the retraction of Melgar. He said other witnesses and pieces of evidence support the case. /Inquirer
