Monday, November 03, 2008 Seares: Lamps and ‘chop-chop’ murders By Pachico A. Seares News Sense
IT DISMAYED us when Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez said in a memo that two of the charges filed against the accused in the decorative lamps scandal were weak.
The public thought they were all open-and-shut cases as overpricing was clear and apparent. Everyone, from experts to the unschooled, was sure the lamp prices, even with transport and other expenses, were padded 10 or more times over.
Overpricing was never doubted by anyone. And the paper trail showed who were involved.
And here now, more than a year after the lamps were bought for the Asean summit, prosecutors are saying two of the cases, which presumably snare he big fishes, might not stand in court.
Not ready
Last week, after several months preparing evidence and prepping witnesses, trial on the “chop-chop” murders of two women in Talisay City was set to start.
It could not. Prosecution wasn’t ready. Key witnesses were absent.
That dismayed the public. The heinous murders were solved a few hours after the story broke out, with the accused singing they were the killers and telling police and the public why they killed the victims, cut up their bodies, and dumped them in several places. They even led the cops to the body parts.
Now, the prosecution isn’t sure anymore if it can make the charges stick?
Maybe, maybe not. What dismays and appalls is that the lamps fraud and the chop-chop murders are cases in which evidence is supposed to be rock-hard and getting the accused nailed isn’t tough work.
Without doubt, the problem is failure to prosecute. Whatever the cause, corruption or ineptness, it is ugly.
