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Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Judge hits hasty rap
A father and an uncle could have been spared suffering nine months in jail if the filing of a rape with homicide case had not been done in haste, a Regional Trial Court (RTC) judge said yesterday.
RTC Judge Raphael Yrastorza dismissed the case against brothers Maximo, 40, and Concordio Laputan, 46. He found the filing of the case “unnecessary.”
He even recommended that the state give Maximo and Concordio P10,000 each “to assuage the harm already done.”
The Laputan brothers were accused of raping and killing Maximo’s daughter, 13-year-old Maylen Laputan, at a cornfield in Sitio Kamang-kamang, Barangay Ocaña, Carcar, Cebu last Sept. 6.
The brothers’ nephew, Ronnie Tabora, pointed to them as the perpetrators.
“The filing of this case on the part of the prosecution should not have been done with undue haste but should have been done with studied circumspection on the rights of both accused,” Yrastorza’s eight-page decision read.
He ordered the prosecution to facilitate the paperwork so that the P20,000 for the brothers will be released in accordance to Republic Act 7309.
The law created a board of claims under the Department of Justice for victims of unjust imprisonment or detention and victims of violent crimes.
For victims of unjust imprisonment or detention, the compensation is computed based on the number of months and days of incarceration, with the amount not exceeding P1,000 per month.
“The prosecution should have saved both accused from the inconvenience of imprisonment and its corresponding effects—loss of income, separation from their respective family members, not to mention the right to grieve over their beloved dead: wife of Concordio and Maylen,” Yrastorza noted.
Concordio was still grieving over his wife’s death when Mylene went missing on Sept. 6. Her mutilated body was found two days later.
The incident stirred up the small of community in Sitio Kamang-kamang.
While the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office recommended the filing of the case against the Laputan brothers, the Public Attorney’s Office filed a motion to dismiss the information against the two during the trial, for lack of probable cause.
The Carcar Police Station based their case on the affidavit of Tabora, who said he was with Maximo and Concordio at his wife’s wake in Carcar.
The brothers, whom Tabora said were drunk that time, allegedly invited him to go with them.
Tabora said Maximo and Concordio raped Maylen whom they met at the cornfield. He said he held the lamp for them.
However, in another affidavit before the Commission on Human Rights 7, Tabora admitted that he too raped Maylen.
He is facing trial in another family court.
“Tabora was the only prosecution witness who has directly implicated (Maximo and Concordio) to the alleged rape. His testimony, however, is punctured with several inconsistencies which would create serious doubt to the court’s mind,” Yrastorza stated.
DNA test results also failed to prove that Maximo and Concordio were at the scene of the crime.
The Carcar police collected DNA samples from the cornfield and clothes of the accused and Maylen.
Carcar Police Chief Teofilo Siclot said the acquittal of the Laputan brothers was not a result of their lapses because, except for a DNA test on the bloodstain in the girl’s clothes, they have submitted all the evidence.
Diomedes was always beside her husband Maximo throughout the trial and testified that he could not have raped and killed their daughter.
Concordio, for his part, said he was in Cebu City driving a passenger jeep-ney at the time of the incident.
At least four other witnesses corroborated his alibi.
Concordio remained calm during yesterday’s promulgation. It was only when reporters asked him for his comment on the decision that he could no longer hold back the tears.
“I am very thankful. We suffered in jail,” he told reporters.
Concordio wailed even louder after his sister Estrella hugged him.
Maximo and Diomedes were already teary-eyed before the reading of the decision was finished.
Right after his release from the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, Maximo said he will visit Mylene’s grave.
He never had the chance to bury his daughter as he was immediately arrested, along with Concordio, three days after Mylene was found dead.
“They (police) should have listened to us. They did not believe us,” Diomedes said.
As for Concordio, he said he promised to visit churches in gratitude for the dismissal of the case.
Also, he received word that the jeepney operator who hired him wants him back as a driver.
Judge Yrastorza commented that the filing of the case is the perfect example of the adage, “haste makes waste.” (With AIV)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 20, 2006 issue)
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