Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Dabawenyos split on Ampatuan's acquittal By Ben O. Tesiorna
THE court decision dismissing the charges against Mohamad Banarin Ampatuan for the death of 28-year-old Carlo Asistido inside The Venue compound on July 28, 2002 shocked many Dabawenyos.
Still many said though that the court's decision must be respected and that they have faith in the justice system in Davao City.
Regional Trial Court Judge Emmanuel Carpio cleared the young Ampatuan after the parents of the victim executed their affidavit of desistance.
In a two-page order, Carpio said: "The affidavit of desistance submitted by Mr. and Mrs. Asistido is tantamount to a withdrawal of evidence for the prosecution."
Carpio added that "when asked, the prosecution raised no serious objection for the dismissal of the case and left the matter to the discretion of the court," thus, the dismissal.
Ampatuan was initially accused of murder and was incarcerated at the Maa-City Jail for a short period of time. The court however later granted the petition for bail of the suspect Ampatuan and was released.
The case then dragged as it was transferred from one judge to another.
First to handle the case was Judge Virginia Europa who was the one who granted the petition for bail of the suspect.
Then the case was transferred to Judge Wenceslao Ibabao where the suspect was allowed to go outside of Davao City.
The case was then re-raffled to the sala of Judge Jesus Quitain after Judge Ibabao's sala was made into a family court.
The Ampatuan's however petitioned for Quitain to inhibit from the said case in 2005 thus the case was again re-raffled to the sala of Judge Emmanuel Carpio.
Carpio earlier ordered the Office of the Clerk of Court to release the bond posted by Ampatuan in the amount of P500,000 and ordered the latter to post P40,000 after the Northern Mindanao Regional State Prosecutor's Office downgraded his case from murder to homicide.
His case was downgraded from murder to homicide because the Northern Mindanao RSPO noted the testimony of witnesses who said Asistido was not part of any of the two groups at war.
Asistido was thus, classified as a spectator or bystander, not an active participant.
Sun.Star Davao asked the reaction of some Dabawenyos regarding the court decision and here are some of their comments:
"I don't think justice was served for Carlo." -- Carlo's friend Ipe Alino
"There is no equal justice in this country. What we have are two faces of justice -- one for the powerful and another for the poor. The Ampatuan case is an example." -- Bill Martin, Freedom from Debt officer
"For those who knew Carlo, a fun-loving character who was only there to peacefully intervene and was shot by accident, this is a painful outcome especially for the family and loved ones." -- Jojie Alcantara, newspaper columnist
"It's a public and transparent trial and both lawyers presented their own evidence. It's the judge's call if he was convinced beyond reasonable doubt or he was not. Judge has no choice but to dismiss with the desistance because that means there is no complaining witness anymore." -- House Speaker Prospero Nograles
"The justice system is made to work only if everyone cooperates. If evidence is strong and witnesses are not scared to speak the truth. Judges and prosecutors can only work with evidence presented to them. They cannot lift proof out of thin air." -- lawyer Karlo Nograles
"Maybe the family of the victim deemed it best to put closure and proceed to healing. Justice for the victim is when what happened to him will be remembered. Yes, I still believe in the justice system." -- Vice Mayor Sara Duterte
"Respect must always prevail for the law and justice system. Otherwise chaos and disorder will result. There are circumstances that the effect of law is harsh. However there are avenues that one can seek recourse. An appeal to the higher court can be done... personally, I'm really sad with the outcome of the case." -- Joji Ilagan-Bian, business leader
