YEARENDER: QC courts acquit alleged JI terrorists, convict Chinese drug mules

(First of two parts)

MANILA, Philippines - With the number of politicians, celebrities, and high-profile personalities charged before its courts, Quezon City may be considered as one of the hubs of the most sensational cases in the country.

Recently, two courts separately decided cases involving alleged foreign terrorists and big-time drug smugglers.

In a 35-page decision dated Dec. 9, Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 92 Judge Eleuterio Bathan acquitted three alleged members of terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah of charges of illegal possession of explosives after he found that they were unlawfully arrested and searched during an operation in Zamboanga City in 2004.

Bathan dismissed the case against Malaysian Mohammed Ted Yolanda and Indonesians Mohammed Yusop Karim Faiz and Mohammad Nasir Hamid and directed the Bureau of Immigration to deport them.

The court refused to accept the evidence against the three men since these were confiscated during an unlawful search. It included 250 grams of trinitrotoluene, an explosive; a fragmentation grenade and a .45 caliber handgun.

He said the arresting officers violated the foreigners’ constitutional right against warrantless arrests and unreasonable searches.

 â€œThe criminal goes free, if he must, but it is the law that sets him free. Nothing can destroy a government more quickly that its failure to observe its own laws, or worse, its disregard of the charter of its own existence,” said the judge.

Bathan said the police officers could have applied for a warrant to search the respondents, but failed to do so.

He noted that the court has to take into consideration the component regarding the constitutional rights of the accused, even as prosecution witnesses were able to positively identify the respondents as the people carrying the alleged illegal explosives.

Chinese drug smugglers convicted

Meanwhile, two Chinese drug smugglers were convicted and sentenced to up to 30 years in prison after a court found them guilty of transporting more than 330 kilos of shabu into the country in 2001.

In a 41-page decision dated Dec. 12, RTC Branch 79 Judge Nadine Jessica Corazon Fama found accused siblings Edwin Chua and William Chua guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972.

She sentenced them to serve at least 30 years in prison, after which they become eligible for pardon. She also ordered them to pay a P10-million fine.

The violation was filed in connection with the 1972 law – and not the more recent Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Law of 2002 – as the arrest happened on Nov. 15, 2001 in Zambales.

The case was originally filed in an RTC in Iba, but was later transferred to Quezon City following a motion for transfer and the subsequent approval of the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the case against a third suspect – identified as Henry Tamayo Tan – was archived after he escaped from his cell in Camp Crame in October 2002.

The case was filed after the siblings and Tan were arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation who intercepted two Asian utility vehicles – one driven by Tan, while the other carrying the Chuas – following tips on  the large shipment of illegal drugs.

Carabuena finally arraigned

After more than one year, tobacco firm executive Robert Blair Carabuena was finally arraigned on the direct assault charges filed against him before Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC) Branch 42. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by MMDA traffic constable Saturnino Fabros, who was allegedly assaulted by Carabuena in Quezon City on Aug. 11, 2012.  

The arraignment of the case, which was filed before the court in October 2012, was postponed at least three times.

Speaking to reporters after the arraignment, Fabros said he was very happy that the case is finally moving. He said he will push through with the case even though he already forgave Carabuena for what he did.

Carabuena earlier said that what he did was remove the enforcer’s hat to see his face as he felt “harassed, insulted and disrespected” with Fabros’ actions.

“If in the process of removing his hat, I accidentally hit his face, this was only caused and provoked by no other than Fabros himself,” said Carabuena.

He said he felt frustrated and provoked as the traffic enforcer hit his car and was cursing at him.

Morato, too

Former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) chairman Manuel Morato was arraigned on April 2 on four counts of electioneering charges filed against him by the Commission on Elections.

Morato entered a not guilty plea before RTC Branch 87 after the reading of the charges against him. The arraignment of the 80-year-old former PSCO chairman was suspended several times after he underwent a heart operation and contracted hospital-acquired pneumonia. 

Morato is accused of using his public affairs program “Dial M” on NBN-4 and IBC-13 in 2010 to campaign for then presidential candidate Gilberto Teodoro and his running mate, actor Edu Manzano.

He earlier claimed that there is no probable cause to file the charges as he was only exercising his right to free speech.

Judge inhibits from Morong 43 case vs GMA

Meanwhile, Judge Afable Cajigal of the Regional Trial Court Branch 96 inhibited himself on June 28 from the P15-million suit filed by members of the so-called “Morong 43” against former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Lawyer Ephraim Cortez, counsel of the petitioners, said they asked Cajigal to inhibit from the case due to his failure to “take judicial notice of the fact that no temporary restraining order (TRO) or writ of preliminary injunction was issued by the Court of Appeals (CA) to restrain or enjoin this court from hearing the case.”

In January, Cajigal granted the motion of the former President to suspend court proceedings pending the resolution of a petition for review that she filed before the CA.

But according to Cortez, the judge should have ordered the resumption of the proceedings since the CA did not issue any TRO or writ ordering the suspension of the hearings before the lower court.

The case stemmed from the complaint filed by six members of the “Morong 43” for their supposed illegal arrest and torture under the hands of the military in 2010.