DOJ: All’s not lost in Javier case

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said yesterday all is not lost despite the acquittal of former Assemblyman Arturo Pacificador in the 1986 murder of former Antique governor Evelio Javier.

This, as the Philippine government could still run after his son, Rodolfo, who has been seeking political asylum in Canada.

"(The acquittal of Pacificador) will not affect our desire to have his son extradited because I think in the decision there seems to be an indication that he was the real mastermind, not his father," Gonzalez told reporters.

Gonzalez admitted though that as far as the elder Pacificador is concerned, "that’s the end of it" since a revival of the case against him is tantamount to double jeopardy.

"I’m still analyzing the decision. But if he (Rodolfo) returns to the Philippines, he will be arrested and he will be tried," he said.

Gonzalez said the young Pacificador could not invoke the favorable decision of Antique Regional Trial Court Rudy Castrojas to his father since the other accused were convicted.

He said he has asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to check on Rodolfo’s status in Canada.

Last year, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that the Philippine government presented insufficient evidence to reverse a Canadian Court of Appeals’ decision denying its request for Rodolfo’s extradition.

Canada’s appellate court assailed the snail-paced judicial process in the Philippines, saying this would only violate Rodolfo’s rights if he were to be extradited.

It added the delay in the trial of the case was "shocking and unacceptable" and fell far below Canadian judicial standards.

Rodolfo flew to Canada in 1987 and sought the status of convention refugee, alleging that the case against him and his co-accused was a product of political manipulation and fabrication of evidence.

He was not sentenced along with another accused, Eduardo Iran, because they are at large and have not been arraigned.

The extradition treaty between the Philippines and Canada went in effect in 1990, with Manila hoping that it would work to get Rodolfo back to the country.

Gonzalez, however, said Rodolfo was denied refugee status although the Philippine government’s request for his extradition was also turned down.

"If he is denied refugee status, where will he go? To the United States? He will be expelled from Canada," he said.

Castrojas acquitted the elder Pacificador, saying the prosecution failed to establish that he masterminded Javier’s killing.

The judge, however, found Pacificador’s lawyer, Avelino Javellana, and seven others, mostly security men of the former assemblyman, guilty of Javier’s murder.

The DOJ was hoping that Pacificador would be convicted to strengthen the government’s case against his son, especially when the judge denied the long-pending bail petition of the former assemblyman and his co-defendants.

The Canadian DOJ has informed the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa that the decision of the Canadian Supreme Court "effectively ends the extradition proceedings" against Rodolfo.

The Canadian Supreme Court’s decision came out on Feb. 20. It upheld the Aug. 20, 2002 ruling of the Canadian Court of Appeals. The government subsequently filed a motion for reconsideration.

Javier was gunned down on the driveway of the Antique provincial capitol on Feb. 11, 1986, four days after the snap presidential elections where Corazon Aquino was pitted against the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

Javier’s son Gideon was not present during the promulgation. He earlier told The STAR, "I choose not to be there. Lots of Pacificador’s people are there. If he is found guilty, they might go after me. If he is found innocent, I don’t want to show them how I feel."

"I have sat through enough that I can no longer trust our justice system. Yet I dare hope that justice be done," he said.