In a significant legal development, the Regional Trial Court Branch 9 in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, has rejected a bail application for Pangantucan Mayor Miguel Silva Jr., who faces charges of statutory rape. The decision was announced during a press conference by Colonel Jovit Culaway, the director of the Bukidnon Provincial Police Office, who revealed that the arrest warrant, issued by Judge Ma. Theresa Camannong of RTC Branch 9, explicitly recommended no bail for the rape charge against Silva. The mayor, aged 59, was apprehended on Sunday night in Compostela Valley, thanks to a joint operation between the Davao de Oro police and BukPPO. In addition to the rape charge, Silva is also facing two counts of sexual assault, for which bail has been set at PHP100,000. Colonel Culaway noted that the mayor had been under surveillance for over a month and had failed to surrender despite earlier promises in media interviews. Brigadier General Jaysen de Guzman, Director of the Police Regional Office-Northern Mindanao, emphasized that the law would be enforced impartially, regardless of an individual’s position. He credited the successful operation to extensive intelligence work and meticulous planning by both regional and local police forces.
