Court refuses to dismiss case vs Mangudadatu guards

A LOCAL court handling the murder case filed against two Mangudadatu escorts denied their motion to dismiss the case but granted a request to file an objection to evidence.

In a six-page order dated September 24, Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 16 Judge Emmanuel Carpio said he would not allow that the case against PO1 Ibrahim Langalen and PO1 Surab Lintukan Banta be dismissed because there are still other aspects of the case to be considered.

“The court is now allowed to admit and consider evidence not formally offered in evidence provided that it must have been duly identified by testimony duly recorded and must have been incorporated in the records of the case,” the court said.
However, the court granted the motion of the defense to file its objection to the evidences presented by the prosecution since the ten-day period of the latter to file formal offer of evidence has expired.

The two were accused of killing Tamano Kamendan inside a mall in February 2010.

In her affidavit, Natividad de Arce Kamendan, wife of the victim, said they were at the fourth floor of Gaisano South Mall on Ilustre Street when they met Maguindanao Governor Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu.

Mangudadatu asked her husband in Maguindanaoan dialect where his boss was. The replied, "No get ren da ako lo (I am no longer going there)."

Natividad said when her husband asked to be excused, Mangudadatu told his escorts to shoot Tamano, who managed to run away but was chased by one of Mangudadatu's companions.

Natividad said a man who was chasing his husband drew out a handgun, and then she heard a shot.

She immediately went to a stock room to hide. She said she heard more gunshots.

She only went out after about 15 minutes and knew her husband was already dead.

Mangudadatu was earlier dismissed from the case for lack of evidence.

In a resolution, the charge against Mangudadatu for "alleged conspiracy" had insufficient evidence and that Kamendan's wife did not include in her initial statement the involvement of the former in the shooting of her husband.

However, records of the case also showed that the Natividad filed an affidavit of desistance on May 24, 2011 which was received by the court on October 11, 2011.

In her affidavit of desistance, she said she is no longer interested to pursue the case against Langalen and Bantas.

"I was not offered any money, nor I was threatened, coerced, intimidated or harassed to sign this Affidavit of Desistance and I signed this affidavit freely and voluntarily," part of her affidavit read.

The defense lawyers wanted the case to be dismissed invoking the right of the accused to speedy trial.

Defense lawyers Raul Tolentino and Marie Dinah Tolentino-Fuentes earlier said that the private prosecutor Gregorio Narvasa and Nohardin Haron failed to present the complainant before the trial of the murder case. (ANC)