Ex-cop’s murder conviction upheld

CEBU, Philippines - Citing the trial court did not err in convicting him, the Court of Appeals Cebu Station has denied the petition filed by a former policeman, who sought for the reversal of the trial court’s ruling in convicting him of murder.

In 2009, the trial court convicted accused-appellant, Leo Suico for two counts of murder for allegedly killing policeman Nestor Bolocon and Welgen Rojo, then three years old, in 1988.

Associate Justice Maria Elisa Sempio Diy said based on the evidence, she found no grounds to reverse the ruling of the trial court and to render a decision in favor of the accused-appellant.

“In the case under consideration, the fact that a high-powered M14 rifle was used upon the bystanders who were merely taking refuge from the rain clearly shows that the killing was attended with treachery. The attack was so swift, so unexpected that it did not afford the unsuspecting victims a chance to resist or escape,” the decision read.

Aside from the affirmation of the conviction, Diy ordered accused-appellant to pay the heirs of the victims P160,000 in damages.

On March 31, 1988 at about 6:00 p.m., policemen Cedrick Lagahit, Allen Amores and Bolocon were conducting a foot patrol in Barangay Poblacion, Sibonga town, Cebu.

Based on the accounts of the prosecution witnesses, the policemen, along with the other people, took shelter under an awning of a store owned by a certain Rene Campos because it was raining.

Minutes later, Lagahit said he heard a sound of an approaching motorcycle and when it neared the store, it slowed down and the man riding pillion, who was later identified as the accused-appellant, shot at them using an M14 rifle.

Amores said he tried to chase the assailants and fired at them but the motorcycle driven by Adonis Suico, the cousin of the accused-appellant was too fast. He said he reported the incident at the nearby police station.

Lagahit and Kervin Albutra, one of the children who took shelter at the store, sustained gunshot wounds, while Bolocon and Rojo, were killed on spot.

Accused-appellant denied the accusation. On the said date, he said he was home in Sibonga when he learned that the father of Adonis was gunned down.

Acting on the incident, he said he got the motorcycle of his uncle and went after the assailant, who was also riding a motorcycle.

He said when they passed by Rene Campos’ store he learned that Adonis had fired the rifle at the people who were taking shelter at the store. He said he asked Adonis to surrender to the authorities but the latter refused and even pointed the gun at him.

Adonis died several years after the incident.

After that incident, he said he left Sibonga and stayed for six years in Davao del Sur, then transferred to Davao del Norte and stayed there for two years, then he went to Leyte and stayed there for one year.

He said it was in Leyte when he was apprehended by the authorities.

To corroborate the claim of the accused-appellant, the defense presented Sarah Suico Ebo, the sister of Adonis.

In her testimony, she alleged that it was her brother, Adonis who strafed the bystanders, who took shelter at the store and not the accused-appellant.

However, based on the foregoing evidences, Diy ruled in favor of the prosecution. She said the evidence of the prosecution was clear that it was accused-appellant, who fired the bystanders.

“Accused-appellant can only deny that he was the culprit. Prosecution witness Lagahit and Amores, on the other hand, were clear, categorical and straightforward in their identification of accused-appellant as the one who pulled the trigger,” the decision read.  (FREEMAN)