An update on and interpretation of the latest developments in People vs. Montañer and Sabay (The Marlene Esperat media murder case)

By the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ)

(For more information, contact FFFJ’s legal counsel Prima Jesusa Quinsayas at this number: 5247686 loc. 228.)

AFTER HAVING their Motion to Quash denied by Judge Milanio M. Guerrero of the Tacurong City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 20, the legal counsel of accused masterminds Osmeña Montañer and Estrella Sabay filed a Motion for Reconsideration (MR) of the said denial last 12 April 2009.

The filing of the MR may have bought the accused additional time from having the arrest warrants served on them. The delay in their arrest also means a delay in their arraignment as the alleged masterminds in the killing of journalist Marlene Esperat in March 2005. Arraignment is the turning point in a criminal case, during which charges are read to the accused who then enters a plea of guilty or not guilty.

Not content with the MR, the accused sought to have the resolution for the MR moved up from 20 May 2009, as originally set by the court, to 29 April 2009. While the court did not do so, neither did it entirely deny the motion as Judge Guerrero ordered the hearing to be moved up from 20 May 2009 to May 13 2009.

The move to hasten the Tacurong City RTC to resolve the said motion is of course a calculated legal move on the part of the accused. The longer the delay in the resolution of the MR, the greater the chances that the Supreme Court (SC) may order the transfer of the trial venue from Tacurong City RTC to Makati City RTC. A petition for change of venue filed by the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ) in February 2009 is still pending before SC.

FFFJ was formed in 2003 by six media organizations to address attacks and threats against Filipino journalists/media practitioners, especially the escalating number of media killings. FFFJ is composed of the Center for Community Journalism and Development, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility which serves as its secretariat, the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (Association of Broadcasters of the Philippines), the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, the Philippine Press Institute, and the US-based newspaper Philippine News.

Moving up the hearing date for the MR may achieve two things: (1) the shorter the time, the less likely the issuance of an order for change of venue; and (2) it being no secret that Tacurong City is the accused’s turf, where they have considerable political influence, it is quite likely they are banking on a favorable resolution on their MR, which is tantamount to the dismissal of the case against them.

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