Ma of RCBC suspect denies son's involvement in robbery-massacre

MANILA, Philippines - The mother of one of the arrested suspects in the bloody Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) robbery-massacre in Cabuyao, Laguna, accused the cops of using his son as a fall guy. In an exclusive report by Marisol Abdurahman in GMA's 24 Oras, Chit dela Cruz, mother of Joel, said police authorities should consider his son not as a suspect but as a witness since he was able to provide vital information regarding the incident. "Kung hindi dahil sa anak ko, di sila makakakuha ng information (If it weren't for my son, the police would not have information) regarding the bank's operation. He is a witness," Mrs Dela Cruz said. Joel, a security guard at RCBC, surrendered to authorities a day after the incident. The television report also said Mrs Dela Cruz presented several documents proving her son's innocence, among these the form Joel filed last May 8 for his leave of absence from May 16 to 26. She said her son even called her right after the incident to tell her he was thankful he was on leave that day, May 16. Ten people were killed in what authorities now call as the bloodiest bank robbery in the history of the Philippines. On the other hand, Sr. Supt. Felipe Rojas, the provincial police chief of Laguna, said they have strong evidence linking Joel to the massacre. "We have positive identification that he was in the bank, his fingerprints were all over the place, and his actuations before and during the incident were very suspicious," he said. Rojas was referring to Joel's decision to leave the apartment he was renting with his family the day after the massacre. Joel, along with two other RCBC suspects - Jesus Narvaez and former Pfc. Ricardo Gomolon - are already in police custody and are facing robbery with homicide charges. Two others - former Army Sgt. Allan Pago and one Danilo Letoguet - are still being hunted down by the police. - GMANews.TV