Two witnesses hold key to reopening Ninoy case

Two witnesses hold the key to the possible reopening of the Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino assassination case, said a former legal counsel of the late senator and an ex-chief of the defunct Tanodbayan (now Office of the Ombudsman) yesterday.

House Deputy Speaker Raul Gonzalez, who, as Tanodbayan chief reopened the assassination case in 1986, believes the Aquino family still has "a window of opportunity" for the possible reopening of case even after the 20-year prescription period of the incident lapses on August 21.

"There are possible things that would reopen the case," Gonzalez said in a telephone interview. "One is the identification of all or some of the John Does in the charge sheet, and two, is the testimony of two witnesses/accomplices in the assassination plot."

The individuals, he pointed out, are not covered by the 20-year prescription rule which states that individuals not charged or have escaped the imposed penalties on them on the crime can go scot-free after the period lapses.

However, since the John Does are very hard to identify, the only option is to obtain the testimonies of former Air Force officers Col. Romeo Ochoco and Capt. Felipe Valerio, Gonzalez said.

Both Ochoco and Valerio fled the country to Hawaii shortly after the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution. Ochoco is reportedly hiding in Australia while Valerio is in Canada and allegedly had his identity changed.

According to Sandiganbayan documents, Ochoco, who was then attached with the defunct Presidential Security Command (PSC) of former President Ferdinand Marcos, had repeatedly ordered a government agent in 1982 and 1983 to kill the late senator while he is still abroad.

Valerio, on the other hand, was head of the defunct Aviation Security Command’s Team Alpha, the group of soldiers positioned in the van at the foot of the plane when Aquino was shot.

It was Team Alpha that shot and killed Rolando Galman, the fall guy in the assassination.

It was also the same group believed to have shot Aquino in the head while he was being loaded into the van to ensure his death.

Valerio was included in the charge sheet in the assassination case.

However, raps were not filed against Ochoco because he fled the country before the courts could acquire jurisdiction over him, Gonzalez said.

He also expressed doubt that Marcos was the mastermind behind the assassination, saying the late strongman was already very ill at that time.

"In fact, I believe that had Marcos been not that sick, the assassination would not have taken place," he added.

He said the late Fabian Ver, former Armed Forces chief and head of the PSC, was at the very least the executor and accomplice.

"Some of the masterminds may be dead already but some may be still alive," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez was Aquino’s lawyer when a military commission sentenced him to death in 1977. He questioned the legality of the sentence against his client before the Supreme Court and won.

He was also private counsel to Rebecca Quijano, more popularly known as the "Crying Lady" before he was appointed as Tanodbayan chief in 1986 by former President Corazon Aquino.