MANILA, Philippines — An Antipolo court on Tuesday convicted three former members of the Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabansa (RAM) for the murders of labor leader Rolando Olalia and his aide Leonor Alay-ay—35 years after their abduction and brutal killing.
Antipolo Regional Trial Court Branch 97 Presiding Judge Marie Claire Mabutas-Sordan found Desiderio Perez, Dennis Jabatan and Fernando Casanova guilty of the crime of murder, and sentenced them to serve reclusion perpetua or up to 40 years of imprisonment.
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The three are ordered to pay the heirs of Olalia P500,000 as civil indemnity, P300,000 moral damages, P200,000 exemplary damages and P200,000 temperate damages.
Heirs of Alay-ay should receive P200,000 as civil indemnity, P300,000 moral damages, P200,000 exemplary damages and P200,000 temperate damages.
All these monetary awards shall earn 6% interest per annum from the date of the finality of the decision until fully paid.
"The Court has carefully sifted through the volumes of records of these cases, and is fully convinced that the prosecution was able to establish beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the accused in these cases," the court said, in its ruling promulgated via videoconference on October 12.
“[T]he court is not persuaded by the evidence presented by the accused in their defense. Suffice it to say that ‘defenses of denial and alibi, such are inconsequential,” it added.
Abduction and killing
The three convicts only began surrendering to authorities in 2012, or 26 years since the abduction.
Perez surrendered in July 2012. Jabatan did the same three months later. Accused Casanova surrendered three decades after the incident, in June 2016.
Another accused, Col. Eduardo Kapunan — said to be the mastermind in the case —surrendered in October 2012 but was acquitted in 2016. Inquirer.net reported that the court granted his demurrer to evidence, which challenged the sufficiency of prosecution evidence against him.
Central to the conviction is the testimony of witness Medardo Barreto, a retired member of the PNP. Barreto started his military career on June 1974 as a member of the Intelligence Service of the AFP, a unit of the Philippine Constabulary.
He was transferred to Kapunan’s Special Operations Group (SOG) in 1978.
Barreto said the SOG’s operations focused on persons perceived to be against the government.
Barreto testified that while under the Special Operations Group, they received an order from Kapunan to help Sgt. Edger Sumido, another team leader under Special Operations Group. Sumido was then conducting surveillance on Olalia, who was head of labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno at the time.
On November 12, 1986, Sumido told Barreto’s group that they received orders from Capt. Ricardo Dicon to get Olalia.
He was also told not to worry because the "higher-ups" were aware of the order, which, according to the witness’ understanding, referred to Kapunan, Col. Oscar Legaspi or Col. Gringo Honasan—the former Information and Communications Technology secretary now seeking a return to the Senate.
Past midnight of November 13, Olalia and Alay-ay were brought out of the “safehouse” in Quezon City in separate vehicles. They were brought to Antipolo, where they were shot and stabbed and where their bodies were found the day later.
The wait and fight continue
The families of Olalia and Alay-ay had to wait for 35 long years to finally see three of the dozens accused convicted in the killing. But justice remains partial, as others accused in the case have yet to be found.
"Noting that the other accused in these cases remain at large, send these cases to archives, subject to reactivation upon the apprehension of the other accused," the ruling read.
For Rolando Rico, son of the slain labor leader, the conviction only bolstered their resolve to “never abandon our search for the remaining nine men involved in our father’s brutal killing.”
“Only when Cirilo Almario, Jose Bacera, Ricardo Dicon, Gilbert Galicia, Oscar Legaspi, Filomeno Maligaya, Gene Paris, Freddie Sumagaysay, Edger Sumudo — and all the other unnamed principals — who have managed to evade the long arm of the law have been found and brought before the courts to be held accountable for their crimes, will justice be finally served,” he said.
Rolando Rico, who followed in the footsteps of his father and became a lawyer, himself, also noted that Kapunan has since been named ambassador to Germany.
Kilusang Mayo Uno also said they are "still expecting the masterminds to be prosecuted. Justice will only truly be served if they are named and judged."
National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers president Edre Olalia said they welcome the decision on the case "with big relief mixed with a tinge of frustration" because of how long it took to be resolved.
The NUPL and the Public Interest Law Center served as private prosecutors in the case. The state prosecution team meanwhile was led by Deputy Chief State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva.
NUPL's Olalia, a distant cousin of the slain labor leader, noted that, for the victims’ families, "the judicial proceedings from one court to another were too protracted, the legal tactics were over-utilized, and twists and turns at different junctures, levels and fora were exasperating."
But the case, he said, brought about very important lessons: "One, superiors and handlers of subordinates will eventually abandon them when the chips are down. Two, grounded tenacity to seek justice despite overwhelming odds and dangers can yield positive results. Finally, law and justice will in time catch up with perpetrators later if not sooner."