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Monday, March 07, 2005
CAV: Disbar them
By Grecar Nilles
* Despite an initial snag at the Supreme Court, the Bacolod family and Crusade Against Violence are pursuing the disbarment case against a former judge and 5 lawyers
* Common link: All had a hand in the prosecution and conviction of Cedrick Devinadera, who tagged Alona’s brother as her killer
ALONA Bacolod’s family is not giving up the fight against a former judge and five lawyers whose actions, they fear, have jeopardized the case against Alona’s husband.
After the Supreme Court (SC) refused to act on the disbarment complaint against a former judge, three prosecutors and two private lawyers, the Crusade against Violence (CAV) formally complied with the filing requirements.
In an amended complaint filed with the SC, CAV national vice president Thelma Chiong and brothers Angelito, Ricky and Josebil Bacolod said the respondents have shamed the judicial system and are no longer fit to be called attorneys.
This after the respondents participated in the conviction of Cedrick Devinadera, who admitted he helped kill Alona Bacolod-Ecleo, wife of former Dinagat mayor Ruben Ecleo Jr.
Ruben heads the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association, where Devinadera is a member.
All is set for today’s exhumation of the body believed to be that of Alona at the Cebu South Memorial Gardens in Talisay City.
Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 9 Judge Geraldine Faith Econg said blood samples will be taken from the Bacolod brothers before they go to the cemetery.
She said Dr. Raquel Fortun and experts from the National Bureau of Investigation and the PNP Crime Laboratory will take samples and do separate examinations to verify the body’s identity.
Econg said security details for witnesses in the exhumation have been taken care of.
Respondents in the disbarment complaint are former Barili RTC Judge Ildefonso Suerte, former Cebu City Prosecutor Cezar Tajanlangit, Assistant Regional State Prosecutor Vicente Mañalac, Acting Provincial Prosecutor Napoleon Alburo, and lawyers Jose Neil Lao Nuñez Jr. and Luis F. Salazar.
The SC initially refused to act on the complaint after the CAV failed to specify legal provisions to show that the respondents have committed violations.
The complainants also failed to certify that they have not filed a similar action in another judicial or quasi-judicial body.
The CAV and the Bacolod brothers said the respondents played roles in prosecuting Devinadera, even if there’s a separate parricide complaint against Ruben.
In the amended complaint, the CAV and the Bacolod brothers alleged that the six respondents are guilty of deceit, malpractice or other gross misconduct in office, violation of oath of office, and willful disobedience of the lawful order of a superior court.
“No matter how we look at the situation, we can see enough, that the grand conspiracy came from the top—from the judge, three prosecutors, and the two private lawyers. They all played their respective roles in an effort to muddle the parricide case against Ruben Ecleo Jr. and in order to ensure the latter’s exculpation from the said crime and thus gain his eventual freedom,” the complaint read.
“The victims of crime, with due respect, cannot understand why the people whom they are supposed to trust to dispense justice fairly and justly, are the very same people who have continued to victimize them. It breaks their hearts to realize that these persons are members of the criminal justice system. They have made the lie, the truth and what is truth, a lie. Will the SC be just like the three monkeys—see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil?” they added.
Suerte, Tajanlangit, Mañalac and Alburo have denied conspiring for Ecleo’s acquittal.
They said their participation was done in good faith and that they only followed the procedure in the prosecution office and the courts.
They are confident that the High Tribunal will clear them of the complaint, since they did not find anything wrong with their participation in the Devinadera case.
Devinadera, with the assistance of Salazar, earlier executed an extra-judicial confession that he helped Ben Bacolod in killing his sister Alona on Jan. 5, 2002.
Mañalac recommended the filing of the murder case against Devinadera, while Tajan-langit, who was then the provincial prosecutor, approved Mañalac’s recommendation.
Alburo prosecuted the case, while Nuñez stood as private prosecutor.
Suerte, after a month and 10 days, convicted Devinadera as accessory to the crime of homicide for Alona’s death.
The SC dismissed Suerte for his involvement in the Devinadera case and other infractions he committed while still a judge.(GN)
(March 7, 2005 issue)
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