Aquinos not keen on slay case retrial

The Aquino family is lukewarm to the idea of a retrial to uncover the brains behind the twin slaying of former senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. and his supposed assassin Rolando Galman.

"Everybody is after the truth. For its sake, if there is more than enough reason available (to reopen) the case, my counsel suggested that we could take the chance. But if the evidence is not foolproof, not credible and reliable, he advised me against it," said the late senator’s only son, Tarlac Rep. Benig-no "Noynoy" Aquino III.

Nearly 20 years after his father’s death, and on the 17th anniversary of people power I today, Aquino said his family has found "closure, in a sense."

"At least, we were able to recover his body and give him a decent burial. A lot of others disappeared during martial law and were never found," he said.

Aquino recalled that shortly after EDSA 1986, he accompanied his mother and one of his sisters to a woman who witnessed his father’s murder.

"She was a passenger on the China Air Lines flight. She was never mentioned in the papers and in the investigation. But after she told us what she saw, it became very clear to us who ordered my father’s murder. We’re happy with that," he said, adding that the woman had recently left the country.

Aquino noted that most of the principals in the case are already dead, making the reopening of the case moot and academic.

Instead of a retrial, Aquino said he is more interested in creating a truth committee to give justice to the victims of martial law. It is similar to the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) set up by the Government of National Unity to help deal with the atrocities committed under apartheid.

He said that, being a member of the House human rights committee, he could send people to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) to take the soldiers’ statements.

"From there, we could know if there was indeed a travesty of justice. But the conclusion should be based on evidence, which would be reviewed by a competent court. They could write to me or to their congressmen, if they want," Aquino said.

Aquino added that what was "curious" is that soldiers seemed to playing a "striptease" with the truth.

"They reveal what they say they know little by little," he said.

The 15 soldiers, who have been jailed for their participation in the double murder since 1983, said fear kept them from talking, but now they are ready to help through the proper forum.

Aquino said he remains firm in his belief that the soldiers were in on the conspiracy and should not be considered "small fries," considering that the murdered man was the symbol of the country’s opposition.

Last week, the "Aquino-Galman boys," as they are called at the national penitentiary, renewed their call for "justice." They are hoping for a retrial of the case and said they are willing to present new evidence that would help shed light on the Aug. 21, 1983 murders.

One of them, Capt. Romeo Bautista, said the group feared that those who know about the assassination are only waiting for the 20-year prescription period for the prosecution of the masterminds to expire this year before they reveal the truth.

"If that happens, wala na rin kaming habol (we will have no recourse). They cannot be charged for their crime, while our lives have been wasted," Bautista told The STAR.

It took the Sandiganbayan four years and 131 witnesses to convict the 16 out of the 36 accused.

Bautista requested the Department of Justice if it could send prosecutors to the NBP to take their affidavits — they claimed that they managed to put the pieces of the puzzle together after years in prison, and are only waiting to be heard.