Esperat case to re-open tomorrow

After a delay of five months, the trial on the murder of crusading journalist Marlene Esperat is set to officially restart tomorrow, 15 February 2006 after being transferred to a local court in Cebu City (620 kilometers south of Manila), the country’s second largest city outside of Manila.

Judge Eric Menchavez of Cebu City Regional Trial Court Branch 21 will handle the proceedings of the case, which has been closely monitored by both local and international organizations for its strong and clear identification of the masterminds.

The case was previously in a Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat court, but was transferred to Cebu through the indorsement of the Supreme Court, which in turn, acted upon the requests of the family and the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists, Inc. (FFFJ) to move the trial to a more neutral location.

In a resolution dated 23 November 2005, the High Court approved the transfer of the case from Tacurong to a safer, more neutral court in Cebu City—the city where the Damalerio and just recently, slain photojournalist Allan Dizon’s cases were resolved in just a span of less than two months.

Esperat’s head legal counsel, Atty. Nena Santos, said they are expecting a favorable trial, despite enduring several setbacks before the case’s transfer to Cebu. “Unlike in the other slain journalists’ cases, this one (Esperat case) seems to have a very promising outcome as there is a clear identification of the masterminds and full cooperation from the witnesses,” the lawyer said.

The Esperat family lobbied for the reassignment of the trial for fears of a whitewash in the case had it been resolved in Tacurong.

For more about the case, please visit http://www.cmfr-phil.org/esperat.htm

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