• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Kabankalan City Prosecutor’s Office has dismissed charges for violation the of RA 9287, or illegal gambling, against three barangay captains in Negros Occidental, for lack of probable cause, the National Bureau of Investigation confirmed yesterday.
Cleared of charges were Noli Villarosa, Tangub barangay chairman of Bacolod City, and Joel Alibango and Franz Leonard Seguiro, Kabankalan barangay 5 and 6 captains, respectively, according to William de Arca, agent on case of the National Bureau of Investigation.
The NBI earlier claimed that Villarosa was the financier of illegal Small Town Lottery operations, while Alibango and Seguiro were accused as protectors of illegal gambling in Kabankalan City.
Asked if they will file a motion for reconsideration on the decision of City Prosecutor’s Office, de Arca said they will look into it, if ever they can gather more evidence.
Villarosa said he already received a copy of dismissal of charges against him.
He maintained that he is not involved in illegal gambling, stressing that he has no capacity to be a financier.
Villarosa also described his implication in illegal gambling as “politically motivated”, since one of his possible opponents in the barangay election is apparently a relative of the NBI personnel who filed charges against him.*
