Kapila Ilubong Ang Patay?
(How
Often will You Bury the Dead?)
The seven bodies found
in an alleged mass grave in Inopacan, Southern Leyte which were being
presented in the multiple murder case against Bayan Muna Representative
Satur Ocampo, Jose Ma.Sison, Luis Jalandoni, Vicente Ladlad, Rafael
Baylosis, Randal Echanis and several others have already been buried and
used in a case somewhere else.
BY KAREN PAPELLERO
Bulatlat
CEBU CITY -
Sometimes, there is no rest for the dead beyond the grave. Some can be
buried more than once.
The seven bodies
found in an alleged mass grave in Inopacan, Southern Leyte which were
being presented in the multiple murder case against Bayan Muna
Representative Satur Ocampo, Jose Ma.Sison, Luis Jalandoni, Vicente Ladlad,
Rafael Baylosis, Randal Echanis and several others have already been
buried and used in a case somewhere else.
This disturbing
information was discovered by Karapatan-Central Visayas after they
reviewed the case filed against Rep. Ocampo and others.
The military already
announced the discovery of the skeletal remains of Domingo Eras, Leonardo
Eras, Concepcion Aragon, Carlos Tronueva, Juanita Aviola, Gregorio Eras
and Paquito “Tito” Tronueva in Brgy. Monterico, Baybay, Leyte last June
27, 2000.
These were used as
evidences in a multiple murder case filed against suspected New People’s
Army (NPA) members and leaders in Baybay town in an alleged “purge” in
1985.
Recycling: the
name of the game
The presence of the
alleged mass grave in Baybay town was further substantiated by the
statements of Zacarias Piedad Sr., a confessed former member of the NPA,
who was then the sole witness presented by the prosecution in July 2000.
He claimed to have known a certain Jaime Soledad and Antonieta Pegoria and
identifed them as the NPA leaders who allegedly ordered the mass killings
in Brgy. Monterico. He also claimed to have heard them issue out the
orders.
During
cross-examination, he was able to accurately identify the bodies, 15 years
after the alleged killings in 1985.
However, Piedad
recanted his statements and issued an Affidavit of Desistance in March
2003 while he was in the provincial jail. He executed his affidavit in
front of representatives of Karapatan- Central Visayas and a lawyer.
In the said
affidavit, he stated that he did not know Pegoria before and only met her
while they were in jail. He further declared that he has not seen any
killings anytime in his life, much less in Brgy. Monterico and that his
former statements in 2000 were made while he was in the custody of the
military in Sogod, Southern Leyte.
Piedad, however,
surfaced once again as a witness. This time in the new case filed against
the Bayan Muna representative and other personalities. He again issued an
affidavit last September 14, 2006, implicating them in the killings in
Inopacan, Southern Leyte.
A malicious
pattern?
Dennis Abarientos,
Secretary General of KARAPATAN-Central Visayas, further revealed that the
Asst. Provincial Prosecutor, Rosulo U. Vivero, the one who handled the
2000 case in Baybay is the same fiscal who filed the multiple murder case
against Satur Ocampo and others last February 28, 2007, in Hilongos,
So.Leyte.
“Vivero purposely and
even, personally, filed the case in Hilongos. What’s he doing filing a
case there when that is not his assignment. Why didn’t he file it in
Baybay which is so much closer to Inopacan? Is he afraid Baybay Judge
Fulache would again dismiss his case?” he asked.
“They are recycling
everything and everyone. Vivero allowed his misplaced personal crusade to
interfere in the dispensation of justice,” Abarientos stated.
Noemi Truya, the
counsel who handled the 2000 case, also doubts the motive behind Vivero’s
recent actions.
“Prosecutor Vivero
did a sloppy job in this grand conspiracy to implicate Satur and company.
How could he forget that he already filed a case for multiple murder for
the skeletons found in Brgy. Monterico, Baybay and now he is filing
another case for the same skeletons allegedly dug in Inopacan?” she
exclaimed.
“Definitely, it is
not an innocent mistake. It is malicious prosecution. He should be held
accountable for the needless anxiety and incarcerationn of those he
persecuted,” Truya declared.
“Para niya ug sa
mga militar, kapila gyud di-ay ilubong ang patay?”
she asked. (According to him and the military, how many times will you
have to bury the dead?) Bulatlat
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