2 'guns-for-hire' charged for poll executive's slay

BAUANG, La Union, Philippines – The provincial prosecutor’s office has filed murder charges against two of the nine suspects in the 2006 killing of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) municipal registrar here. 

Charged were Ares Mato and his companion Dominador Ali Rentuma, who both hail from South Cotabato, who were allegedly hired to kill Comelec registrar Felimon Asperin Jr.

Prosecutor Danilo Bumacod filed the information against the two suspects last Friday before Regional Trial Court Judge Ferdinand Fe.

The case was initially dismissed on Sept. 14, 2006 by then acting provincial prosecutor Cielitolindo Luyun due to supposed lack of probable cause.

Luyun cleared all the accused, including former second district congressman Tomas Dumpit Sr., his son Thomas Jr., also a former lawmaker; daughter Tess Dumpit-Michelena, Mayor Clyde Crispino of Caba town, SPO1 Eduardo Banay, Renato Batoon, Armen Mato, and several John Does.

Due to the dismissal, Asperin’s widow Ma. Libertine filed a petition for review with the Department of Justice, which was resolved only last June 18 by then acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra.

In a 17-page resolution, Agra modified the dismissal and directed the provincial prosecutor to file murder charges against Mato and Rentuma and upheld the dismissal of the murder complaint against the Dumpits and the rest of the accused due to insufficient evidence.

Mato confessed in his March 22, 2006 affidavit that he killed Asperin in the morning of June 12, 2006 while he was about to board his L-300 van in front of his office.

He said he shot the poll registrar at close range with a caliber .45 pistol and escaped on a motorcycle driven by Rentuma.

Mato was arrested in Cotabato a few months later for another crime. It was during this time when he talked about Asperin’s murder to a radio reporter and tagged the Dumpits as the alleged masterminds who supposedly promised him P300,000 for the hit job. 

However, Mato recanted his testimony on April 17, 2006 and cleared the Dumpits of any involvement in the killing. 

Mrs. Asperin told The STAR that she and her family were not satisfied with Agra’s resolution and filed last July 5 a motion for reconsideration seeking a thorough review of the case.

Mrs. Asperin said in her affidavit that before the killing, her husband had received several death threats after he refused to accept an offer of P500,000 and a brand new car in exchange for an elective post in Bauang and a favorable decision in a case involving the 2004 elections.