DUMAGUETE City – A 14-year old boy filed on Tuesday charges of kidnapping/serious illegal detention, grave coercion, and violation of Republic Act 7610 (Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act) against Negros Oriental Vice Gov. Jose Baldado, a certain Romeo Sablada and a “John Doe”, before the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.

The boy, accompanied by his father and a lawyer, filed the complaint around 10 a.m. even before police authorities had completed their investigation into the case in the absence of a statement from the victim and witnesses.

However, Senior Supt. Augusto Marquez, Jr. said anybody can file a case directly in court even without the assistance of the police or other law enforcement agencies.

The three cases, docketed under NPS numbers 10C-00139, -00140 and -00141, are now on the desk of Provincial Prosecutor Diosdado Hermosa for review prior to raffling for preliminary investigation, a court employee who requested anonymity said.

Among the witnesses that the boy presented were his father and a couple with whom the boy had stayed during weekdays in the town proper where he was attending high school.

Last Friday, the complainant took his oath before Fiscal Vilmo Ampong while the two witnesses executed their affidavits and were subscribed by Fiscal Elizabeth Bayhon on Monday.

The complaint stems from the now celebrated purported kidnapping of the boy last Feb. 15, who alleged that while he was walking to school shortly before classes started, Sablada and the unidentified driver of a motorcycle allegedly snatched him off the road and brought him to the house of Baldado in Manjuyod town.

The boy had further alleged that upon arriving at the vice governor’s residence, the official had asked him to tell his father to withdraw the pending case against four policemen in Manjuyod.

The boy’s father had filed charges of illegal detention against the four policemen after he was also charged for frustrated murder for allegedly shooting Romeo Sablada, one of the respondents, a few years back.

Baldado has repeatedly denied involvement in the alleged kidnapping, saying he was in Dumaguete at the time when the supposed incident took place.

The vice governor told reporters that he was not aware of the charges filed against him as he has not received any official communication yet and only learned of it following a request for media interview late Tuesday afternoon.

He described the move as an overkill of the political attack launched against him by his political opponents who want to derail his campaign in the coming May elections.

Baldado is running for governor under the Nacionalista Party.

He said he is not afraid to face the charges as he has witnesses who can testify that he was at the boulevard doing his routine walking exercise when the “kidnapping” took place.

He also lamented what he perceives as sensationalism in the news considering that the media learned ahead of him of the filing of charges.

“As usual it is always the media (who gets the information first) as far as cases involving a political figure…and so I don’t know the implication. There’s something behind (this) to destroy one’s reputation and one’s name. Because, as a matter of fact, as you know, the accusation is baseless,” Baldado said.(PNA)