Frat war two Tau Gamma officers acquitted in murder case

CEBU, Philippines - Two officials of the Tau Gamma Phi Fraternity were acquitted by the Regional Trial Court in the murder of a rival fraternity official seven years ago.

Regional Trial Court Branch 18 Judge Gilbert Moises acquitted Tau Gamma-University of Cebu chapter president Ramon Ortiz, Jr. and his predecessor Jayfer Oyon-oyon in the murder of Romulo Romero after the prosecution failed to present strong evidence to prove their guilt.

“For failure of the prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt, the court hereby acquits Oyon-oyon and Ortiz in criminal case for both murder, for insufficiency of evidence and the cases against them are dismissed,” the decision reads.

Moises also pointed out that “the positive identification made upon the two accused in court is not reliable as it is not consistent with the initial identification made by the informants to the police as reflected in the police blotter.”

“The mind of the court cannot rest easy on this hiatus of the prosecution’s evidence,” he added.

Moises ordered the jail warden of the Cebu City Jail to release them unless there is other legal basis to continue to hold them in custody.

Oyon-oyon and Ortiz were accused in the killing of Romero, vice president for external affairs of the Alpha Kappha Rho Fraternity, in the evening of January 21, 2004 in Leon Kilat St.

Prosecution witness Jake Germinanda, resident of Sindulan Mabolo, said he was with the victim and two other fraternity brothers waiting for a ride to attend their monthly meeting in Labangon when they were suddenly attacked by several persons.

Germinanda said he recognized Oyon-oyon and Ortiz who fired shots at the victim. But, Oyon-oyon and Ortiz presented witnesses to prove that they were not in the crime scene when the victim was shot.

Oyon-oyon claimed he was with her girlfriend Cielo Regner attending a birthday party in Mambaling when the shooting incident happened. Ortiz on the other hand presented street vendor Eduardo Iran who claimed to have witnessed the shooting of the victim.

Iran told the court that he knew Ortiz being the son of a police official and that he was allegedly not around when the crime happened.

Ortiz, after gaining back his freedom, has called on the Tau Gamma and Akrho fraternities to patch up things and stop the violence.

“Mga Tau Gamma ug Alpha Kappha Rho ato nang hunungon ang mga away kay parehas namu napagan mi tungod sa away sa duha ka grupo, nag-suffer mi sa sulod sa jail for almost six years, ang among mga pangandoy naputol, ang amo pag-eskwela naundang tungod kay napasanginlan mi nga kami ang nagpatay sa usa ka member sa Alpha Kappha Rho,” Ortiz said. – (FREEMAN)