Court convicts three men over journalist’s murder
It was a welcome victory for Philippine press freedom today (6 October), when a Cebu City court convicted three men for the murder of journalist Marlene Esperat after a ten-month trial period.
At the same time, prosecutors filed a motion to reinstate the murder cases against two high-ranking government officials believed to be the masterminds of the slay.
In a decision read at around 11:00 am (Manila time), Cebu City Regional Trial Court Branch 21 Judge Eric Menchavez convicted Gerry Cabagay, Randy Grecia, and Estanislao Bismanos of murder charges, and sentenced the killers to reclusion perpetua or life sentence.
The court also ordered the three accused to pay the heirs of Esperat P75,000 (US$1,500) in civil indemnity, P75,000 in moral damages, and P25,000 (US$500) in exemplary damages.
Suspect-turned-state witness ex-sergeant Rowie Barua, the self-confessed henchman who hired Cabagay, Grecia, and Bismanos to waylay Esperat on 24 March 2005, was acquitted for lack of evidence.
Nena Santos, the Esperat family’s legal counsel, said they did not pursue the evidences against Barua, in exchange for the latter’s testimonies against the suspected masterminds, Department of Agriculture Region XII finance officer Osmeña Montañer and accountant Estrella Sabay. Barua, a former military intelligence officer, was also Sabay’s bodyguard.
After the reading of the decision, Santos and the state prosecutors, upon the recommendation of the Department of Justice filed a motion to reinstate the murder charges against Montañer and Sabay on the strength of Barua’s testimonies. An inquiry was set on 10 October to hear the said motion.
Montañer and Sabay were earlier dismissed from the murder charges by a Tacurong City court, allegedly due an attempt to whitewash the case against them by a local prosecutor. The dismissal prompted the family and the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists, Inc. (FFFJ) to write the Supreme Court to request the case’s transfer to the more neutral, relatively safer Cebu City.
The judgment was the third straight recorded journalist killing conviction in Cebu City. Earlier, Guillermo Wapile, the gunman of Pagadian journalist Edgar Damalerio, was convicted on 29 November 2005; while, Cebu photojournalist Allan Dizon’s killer, Edgar Belandres, was convicted last 19 January. Dizon’s murder, though, this case is not work-related.
The verdict on Cabayag and his two companions brought to four the total number of convictions among the 60 slain journalists’ cases since 1986. None of the cases though, was satisfactorily solved, due to the lack of convicted masterminds.
During the press conference held after the promulgation, Rynche Arcones, one of Esperat’s daughters, thanked the media organizations for supporting the case of her mother. Rynche, and her elder sister, Janice, broke into tears upon hearing the verdict.
Santos, likewise, expressed her satisfaction over the outcome of the case, and remains upbeat about the prospect of reinstating the cases against Montañer and Sabay.
FFFJ representative and Philippine Press Institute executive director Jose Pavia, who was present during the promulgation, noted though that the real victory will be when the real masterminds are behind bars.
For a full background of the Marlene Esperat case, please visit this.
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