SC acquits forester over mayor’s killing

The Supreme Court acquitted last Tuesday a forest guard of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), who was imprisoned for 13 years at the National Penitentiary in Muntinlupa City for the accidental shooting of an Agusan del Sur mayor in 1990.

Atty. Antonio Oposa, an environmental and human rights lawyer, said forest guard Raul Zapatos, who had been staying at the maximum security unit of the penitentiary since 1990, was acquitted of murder and frustrated murder charges for the death of Bayugan Mayor Leonardo Cortes and wounding of his bodyguard Socrates Platero.

Sis. Aida Velasquez, a civil society stalwart who had lobbied and worked on the Zapatos case since 1990 and one of those who brought the case to the attention of former Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Heherson Alvarez in May 2002, thanked the justice system, saying that she and the entire NGO community are "ecstatic with this legal victory."

On Jan. 14, 1990, while on duty at a checkpoint in Agusan del Sur as team leader of the DENR Strike Force there, Zapatos and his team was allegedly fired upon by Cortes and his bodyguards.

Zapatos, who said he was acting in self-defense, took an M-16 rifle left by another officer and shot back at the group, killing Cortes.

He surrendered to Army soldiers the following day upon hearing news of the mayor’s death.

DENR officials led by Secretary Elisea Gozun fetched Zapatos from the National Penitentiary in Muntinlupa City the other day and brought him to the DENR compound in Quezon City for a special thanksgiving Mass officiated by Fr. Robert Reyes.

In his emotional message, Zapatos tearfully thanked the DENR management and gave special recognition of the help extended by Alvarez last year.

"Working with people like Zapatos who are willing to give up everything for Inang Kalikasan (Mother Nature) makes it all worthwhile. The department is truly grateful for his selfless service to the country’s environmental endeavors," Gozun said.

On March 27, 2001, the fourth division of the Sandiganbayan found Zapatos guilty of murder and frustrated murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay P75,000 in damages.

The case was later appealed to the Supreme Court’s third division. — Pamela Samia