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PALAYAN
CITY, Nueva Ecija—Defense lawyers prevailed over
apparently ill-prepared prosecutors in the second
hearing here Monday of the murder charges against four
progressive party-list politicians, prompting the lady
judge to crack humor unusual in courtroom proceedings.
She gave both parties 15 days to determine probable
cause to support the charges.
The
Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and
Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) earlier charged Party-list
Reps. Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna,
Liza Maza of Gabriela and former Anakpawis congressman
and current Kilusan ng Magbubukid ng Pilipinas chairman
Rafael Mariano with the separate killings of alleged
former New People’s Army (NPA) leaders in Nueva Ecija.
Nueva
Ecija Regional Trial Court Branch 31 Judge Evelyn Turla,
apparently noting that the prosecutor could hardly argue
when lead defense counsel Romeo Capulong scrutinized the
manner the charges were filed, broke the tension that
was building up. “I can see you gentlemen [are] more
handsome in your barong [Tagalog, the Philippine
business suit]. I have known Congressman Ocampo even
during his media days, and he’s still handsome up to
now. Congressman Casiño looks handsome, too,” she said
smiling.
Suppressed laughter briefly eased the courtroom tension.
The
three male defendants and the three prosecutors all wore
barong Tagalog, while the defense lawyers were in coat
and tie.
Capulong
listed alleged violations in the filing of the charges.
According to him, they were done by some police officers
and were not examined carefully, not properly subscribed
and sworn into.
“This is
prohibited by the rules. These were part of the
political prosecution of the four accused,” he told the
judge.
Capulong
earlier asked Judge Turla to let the prosecution produce
the police records that were made basis for the charges.
“There was some prosecutorial misconduct because the
prosecution failed to show the police reports that would
directly link the accused to the killings. Besides, we
have not seen the complainants and the witnesses,” he
said.
The four
were accused of conspiring for the separate killings of
alleged NPA leaders Carlito Bayudang and Jimmy Peralta
of Bongabon, Nueva Ecija; and Danilo Felipe of Guimba,
Nueva Ecija.
Bayudang
was killed on May 6, 2004. Peralta—said to be a case of
mistaken identity as the actual object, according to the
charge sheet, was his brother, alleged former NPA Nueva
Ecija chief Ricardo Peralta—was killed on December 23,
2003. Felipe was allegedly abducted and later killed at
Sitio Balic-balic, barangay Narvacan, Guimba, on
February 17, 2001.
The
complainants, according to the charge sheet, are the
widows of the alleged NPA leaders—Isabelita Bayudang,
Medelyn Felipe and Mayumi Peralta. They had not shown up
in the past two consecutive meetings so far.
Monday’s
hearing, which was reset again on May 28, was on the
Bonabon cases. The Guimba incident was first heard last
week and was reset also on May 22 for lack of court
personnel at the Guimba RTC Branch 31.
Through
the proceedings that lasted for about an hour,
prosecutor Antonio Lapuz—the only one talking for the
government—was seen occasionally wiping his sweating
face with a white handkerchief as the airconditioning
unit could barely cool the room.
“He was
obviously not into the case. His heart wasn’t into it
and, obviously, the case was only thrown into his lap,”
surmised Vince Borneo, the information officer of Casiño.
“Humor
sometimes helps in resolving serious issues,” said one
of the court staff later, alluding to the judge’s
comments on the defendants’ sartorial elegance. |
