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Monday, January 16, 2006
'Mastermind' in Esperat slay now in Middle East
By Aquiles Zonio
THE lawyer of slain journalist Marlene Esperat criticized the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation (BID) for allowing Osmeña Montañer to leave the country despite the hold departure order issued against him.
Montañer, finance officer of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in the Soccsksargen Region, was one of the two suspected masterminds in the murder of Esperat on March 24, 2005 in Tacurong City.
Private prosecutor Nena Santos said she received information that Montañer and all the members of his family had left for the Middle East just recently without clearance from court.
Based on the information relayed to Santos, Montañer went to the Middle East to attend the pilgrimage to Mecca.
DA Soccsksargen Regional Director Abusama Alid reportedly confirmed Montañer had filed an official leave of absence.
In a text message Santos said, "I received information that Montañer and all the members of his family, even a one-year-old grandchild, went to the Middle East with no intention of going back to the Philippines. I don't understand why the accused who is on a hold order list was allowed to go out of the country."
Montañer, along with Estrella Sabay, DA regional accountant, was tagged by four confessed suspects as the masterminds in the killing of Esperat.
The two, however, managed to report back to work at the DA regional office after Tacurong City local court judge Francis Palmones recalled the warrants of arrest issued against them.
Palmones cited the contradicting findings of the two panel of prosecutors created by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as basis in recalling the arrest warrants.
Due to serious threats to the lives of witnesses and family of the victims, Santos petitioned the Supreme Court to transfer the trial venue of the Esperat murder case from Tacurong City to Cebu City.
Late last year, the Supreme Court issued a resolution granting the request of the private prosecutor.
Three of the four suspects -- Estanislao Bismanos and Randy Grecia, who served as lookouts, and triggerman Jerry Cabayag -- would soon be transferred from the city jail here to Cebu City.
Rowie Barua, a former military intelligence operative, who served as close in security escort of Sabay, was under the custody of the DOJ after he was admitted to the government's witness protection program.
Barua executed an extra-judicial confession where he tagged Montañer and Sabay as having paid them P120,000 to kill Esperat.
Santos went to Manila last Tuesday to check with the BID office the veracity of the report.
He revealed that BID confirmed to her that Osmeña Montañer Jr., son of the accused, left for the Middle East a few days ago.
The private prosecutor had already requested the BID to give her a complete list of the Montañers who were able to leave the country.
However, she said, the BID asked her to give them until Thursday to process her request.
Lawyer Ernesto Mercado, BID chief in this city, said Montañer could leave the country if the court had issued an allow departure order in his favor.
(January 16, 2006 issue)
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