Tuesday, December 23, 2008 RTC finds PBMA member guilty By Karlon N. Rama Sun.Star Staff Reporter
A BODYGUARD of Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA) divine master Ruben Ecleo Jr. was ordered jailed yesterday after being found guilty of illegally possessing guns and explosives.
Nestor Carrol was among the eight PBMA members arrested last Dec. 4, 2004 while transporting a cache of handguns, rifles and rifle-grenades as well as police uniforms across Lapu-Lapu City.
At the time of their arrest, the police suspected the eight of being part of an assassination team and that the uniforms were disguises.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, on the other hand, believed he was the subject of the hit, as he was in Lapu-Lapu City at the time of their arrest to give awards during a shooting competition.
The mayor, prior to the incident, issued statements on how the PBMA was behind the Oct. 2004 murder of lawyer Arbet Sta. Ana-Yongco, the private prosecutor trying Ecleo for the murder of his wife, Alona, in 2002.
But Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Benedicto Cobarde’s ruling did not touch on what the guns, ammunition, explosives and uniforms were for, or to where the cache of arms were to be delivered.
In fact, Cobarde found no evidence that the seven other co-accused—Army Master Sergeant Heracleo Rallestan, Rosalito Oaper, Elpidio Amarilla, Michael Baylon, Arulyn Gallarda, Damiano Esconde and Richard Caballero--conspired to possess the weapons.
With the exception of Rallestan, none of the co-accused was caught in direct possession of a firearm, explosive or ammunition.
The judge found Carrol solely liable and sentenced him to 10 to 12 years under reclusion temporal and directed him to pay a P50,000 fine while forfeiting all the guns, ammunition and explosives in favor of the government.
“The mere fact that they were passengers of the same vehicle where the bags containing assorted high-powered firearms, ammunition and explosives were found does not show conspiracy. Nor had they been made conspirators by their wearing of the rings of the PBMA,” Cobarde’s five-page ruling read.
Mission order
The court noted that the guns, ammunition, explosives and uniforms were placed in a bag secured by a numeric lock. Carrol readily claimed owning the bag.
Carrol also provided the number combination and opened the bag in the presence of police officials.
On the other hand, Rallestan, whom the police claimed to have arrested with two guns tucked in his waist after identifying himself as a military man who was armed but had a mission order, could not be found liable “with moral certainty.”
According to the police, Rallestan was found in possession of two guns when arrested a .32 revolver and a .45 pistol that didn’t have any serial number.
However, in Senior Insp. Jonathan Pineda’s affidavit detailing the arrest, it appeared that the .45 pistol that didn’t have any serial number was not taken from Rallestan but from the bag that Carrol opened for the police.
“The court finds it odd and contrary to human nature that a person who calls attention to himself that he has a gun covered by a mission order would also tuck on his
waist a high-powered hand gun of which he has no license to possess and would even raise his shirt, making (it) easy for the authorities to spot it. This simply is not done in the ordinary course of things,” Cobarde said.
“The totality of the evidence, therefore, has established that only accused Nestor Carrol is liable,” said the judge.
Lawyers Noel Archival and Jessie Capoy, who represented all eight accused, hailed the ruling despite Carol’s conviction.
“We will file a motion for reconsideration in behalf of Nestor Carol and try to regain his lost freedom via a petition for bail,” they said in a joint-statement.
“At least dili kaayo dimalas kay usa ra ang down, luwas ang pito (It is unfortunate that one went down, but thankfully, the seven others are safe),” Archival said in a separate interview. (KNR)
