Gov’t brings Kuratong case to SC today

Government prosecutors are seeking a reversal by the Supreme Court (SC) of a Quezon City judge’s decision to junk the Kuratong Baleleng murder case against presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson and 33 other accused.

Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño brushed aside speculation that the revival of the case is meant to harass Lacson.

"It just so happened that there were many legal issues and it took the courts so long to decide on a case," he said.

Zuño said Judge Theresa Yadao committed grave abuse of discretion when she ruled on substantial issues in the case when there was no trial yet.

He said government prosecutors will file a petition for certiorari and insist before the SC that there is overwhelming evidence to merit the arrest and conviction of Lacson and 33 other suspects in the case.

"The court should order the reopening of the case. What we have is beyond quantum of evidence and probable cause. We can go to trial with our evidence," Zuño said.

Lacson was head of Task Force Habagat of the defunct Presidential Anti-Crime Commission in 1995, when 11 members of the notorious Kuratong Baleleng gang were shot dead along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City while under police custody.

Zuño said they will also ask the SC to remand the case to the lower court but not to Yadao. He insisted that a family court should handle the case since some of the victims were minors at the time.

He added that Yadao should be inhibited from further hearing the case on grounds of partiality when she dismissed the case for lack of probable cause.

In dismissing the case, Yadao said the prosecution panel "committed a manifest error constituting grave abuse of discretion and exhibited its prejudice" in evaluating the evidence before them.

The dismissal became final in January this year as Yadao junked the prosecution’s motion for reconsideration.

In October last year, the SC upheld its April 1, 2003 decision to reopen the controversial case and denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Lacson.

The prosecutors also filed a disbarment case against Yadao before the Office of the Court Administrator for grave abuse of discretion in prematurely dismissing the case.