11 Degamo slay suspects seek dismissal of raps

MANILA, Philippines —  The 11 men accused in the assassination of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo and nine other persons have asked a court in Manila to junk the complaints filed against them, among other petitions.

Through their lawyers, accused Marvin Miranda, Joven Javier, Romel Pattaguan, Dahniel Lora, Jhudiel Osmundo Rivero, Rogelio Antipolo Jr., Joric Labrador, Benjie Rodriguez, Winrich Isturis, Eulogio Gonyon Jr. and John Louie Gonyon filed yesterday afternoon motions to quash the charges of murder, frustrated murder and attempted murder filed against them.

Only their lawyers were present during the scheduled hearing at Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 51, with the suspects currently detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Manila and in Negros Oriental.

The men implicated in the killing of Degamo and nine others maintained their innocence and asserted that they were tortured by authorities to make them declare that they were involved in the killing spree, according to lawyer Danny Villanueva, who serves as legal counsel for Javier, Pattaguan, Lora, Rivero and Antipolo.

“They are maintaining that they were illegally arrested,” Villanueva told reporters after the hearing yesterday.

His clients earlier filed statements withdrawing their earlier confessions, which they claimed were forced and done under pressure due to alleged acts of torture primarily by arresting policemen and NBI agents. They had pointed at suspended Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. and Miranda as masterminds.

Villanueva also revealed – without naming names – that five other accused are set to submit retractions of their statements allegedly admitting their participation in the shooting spree inside the Degamo compound last March 4.

Aside from their motions to quash, the accused also filed motions to remand, or for the court to revert the complaints to the Department of Justice (DOJ) so that the agency could hold preliminary investigations.

Also submitted before the Manila RTC were motions for them to undergo medical examination to prove they were victims of torture, as well as for them to remain in the NBI detention facility in Manila and prevent their transfer to the Manila City Jail.

Villanueva claimed that his clients received information that they would be taken down once moved to the city jail.

The court has asked the DOJ to reply to the motions filed by the accused before proceeding with the arraignment reset to July 19 and at the same time, releasing an order on whether or not to transfer them to the Manila City Jail as appealed by the prosecution represented by the DOJ.

No illegal arrest

The DOJ maintained that state agents did not illegally arrest the suspects in the March 4 attack on Degamo, saying the government has resources and means to look for suspects contrary to their allegations.

While he deferred to the wisdom of the Manila RTC, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said everything that state agents did to capture the suspects “in hot pursuit” following the so-called Pamplona massacre is “presumed to have happened regularly and that’s for the court to appreciate.”

“That’s for the court. I will not answer that or explain anything. Everything is hot pursuit. From day one, we were looking for Miranda. He was caught on March 31. (There’s) no illegal arrest. Why should there be?” Remulla told reporters yesterday.

Miranda, a former reservist and long-time bodyguard of Teves, was tagged as the “director” or the ringleader of the commando-style attack that killed Degamo and nine others.

Now, Remulla said Miranda acted as a whip among fellow detainees at the NBI detention facility to get them to recant their statements.

Remulla also confirmed that the former DOJ undersecretary who went to the facility to round up recantations was Reynante Orceo.

“Miranda, true to form, as we said, was the director of everything, the director of the massacre was again directing the activities around how they will make everybody recant. True to his billing as a co-principal or co-conspirator … and co-principal, co-mastermind together with Congressman Teves, so everybody is behaving just true to form,” Remulla said.

While the suspects’ lawyers said 10 have already recanted their statements implicating Teves, Remulla also warned them that their recantations would not be taken lightly.

The DOJ chief also noted that only Rivero’s affidavit of recantation had been submitted.

DOJ theory

Following these developments, the Teves camp has denied the DOJ’s theory that they were behind the recantations of five accused gunmen in the bloody attack.

Teves’ lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said he has no links with Villanueva, who was hired by Rivero, Javier,  Lora, Pattaguan and Antipolo when they decided to recant the statements they had given the DOJ that implicated Teves as the attack’s mastermind.

Topacio took issue with Remulla’s “insinuations” about the decision of the five to hire private lawyers and forgoing their initial counsels from the Public Attorney’s Office.

“It is in the Constitution that every person under investigation for the commission of a crime has a right to counsel of his own choice. Why would you take that as a bad thing, that a detained person would use his right under the Constitution?” Topacio said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum yesterday.

He also took a swipe at DOJ spokesman Mico Clavano, who said last week that the agency has reason to believe that Teves and his camp are behind the suspects’ subsequent recantations. – Neil Jayson Servallos, Romina Cabrera, Gilbert Bayoran