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Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Ex-civic leader acquitted of rape charges
By Ben O. Tesiorna and Raquel Bagnol
DAVAO CITY -- Citing insufficient evidence, a Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Davao City acquitted Jose B. Custodio, a civic leader and former president of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Incorporated (DCCCII), of rape charges Tuesday.
In a 20-page decision, RTC Branch 11 Judge Virginia Europa finds Custodio not guilty of raping Karen Vertido, former chamber executive director.
Europa also ordered the release of Custodio from detention at Ma-a City Jail, where the accused was detained for eight years and three months following the filing of the rape charges against him.
But Vertido's legal counsel said Tuesday "the fight is not yet over," saying they will definitely elevate the case to the Supreme Court (SC).
The celebrated rape case was finally decided after being passed from one judge to another for almost nine years. Vertido accused Custodio of raping her inside the Bermuda Gateway Drive Inn on JP Cabaguio Avenue on the evening of March 29, 1996.
Europa handed out the decision amidst tears of sorrow from Vertido's side and various women's groups who were there and tears of joy from Custodio's family, relatives and supporters.
The decision was read before a jam-packed crowd, mostly relatives, lawyers and supporters of both camps and curious spectators who wanted to get a first hand account of the promulgation proceedings.
'Many doubts'
In her decision, Europa said the evidence presented by the prosecution, citing in particular the testimony of Vertido, "leaves too many doubts in the mind of the court to achieve the moral certainty necessary to merit a conviction."
Europa also stated there could be no worse violation of a woman's person than the crime of rape but the bottom line in determining charges of rape is the credibility of the testimony of the complainant.
"This court is unconvinced that there exists sufficient evidence to erase all reasonable doubts that the accused committed the offenses charged, its duty to acquit him is unavoidable," the judge said in the decision.
Before the reading of the decision, Europa reminded the public never to make any reaction during and after the promulgation.
After the decision was read, the visibly disappointed Vertido was spirited away by her family outside the Ninoy Aquino Hall of Justice into a waiting taxicab.
Just as Vertido was coming out of the building, a small group of women who staged a protest action in front of the Hall of Justice blew their whistles and burned an effigy of "lady justice," indicating that justice was not served by the court's decision on the Custodio case.
White paper
Does Custodio know of his acquittal even before the promulgation?
This question cropped up when a white paper was circulated while the promulgation proceeding was still going on, thanking the public for the "vindication".
The white paper was unsigned, but people who got hold of it assumed it came from Custodio.
The paper read: "At last I have been vindicated! I thank God for seeing to it that justice finally prevailed. I thank my family and friends who stood by me thru thick and thin, in the whole duration of my unfair and unjust incarceration. I also thank my lawyers for their patience in carrying the load of my legal defense for nine years of hell, without wavering and without complaint. Finally, I thank the media--print, radio, and television for their fair and objective reporting. That's all that I can say. Further comments or statements may be solicited from my lawyers if needed".
Sun.Star Davao wanted to get Europa's reaction, but she declined to be interviewed.
Relatives and supporters of Vertido vowed that their fight is not yet over.
Judgment hit
Vertido's Manila-based lawyer Evalyn G. Ursua told Sun.Star Davao, there was a violation of due process in the decision.
"We started with the fight to let the truth surface but the court did not believe us," Ursua said.
"We have enough grounds to question the judgment rendered because there seemed to be a sudden turn of events and the court did not consider many of the testimonies and evidence presented," the lawyer said.
She said they are going to discuss what they will do next but they will definitely raise it to the Supreme Court.
"We are not stopping here, we are going to go on because many cases of first impression can be overruled by the higher courts," she said.
The lawyer also said that Vertido's tone of testimony was very credible contrary to the version of the testimony of Custodio that was "ludicrous".
Although Vertido lost the battle in court, Ursua said Vertido still won in regaining her dignity.
Vertido's husband, Dan, said they will just "get some space for a while" before proceeding with their next plan.
Dan described the court decision as "completely trash". He said they were 99 percent confident to get a conviction in favor of Custodio.
"But the fight is not yet over," Dan Vertido assured.
Case over
But Custodio's lawyers declared the case finally over. Lawyer Hildegardo Iņigo said the rape case against Custodio could not be forwarded to the higher court since the decision at the lower court was for acquittal.
"Kung conviction sana yan pwede kaming mag-appeal sa higher court. But it's acquittal eh, wala na silang magagawa dun. The case is over," Iņigo said.
Asked of his reaction from the remark of Vertido husband that the court decision is trash, Iņigo said they expect such a reaction.
"Talo kasi sila eh," he said.
During the court trial, Vertido testified that she attended a dinner at Apo View Hotel at around 8 p.m. on March 29, 1996 with other members of DCCIII board and she accepted a ride with one Jose Morada in Custodio's car.
Morada stood as defense witness. But he died a few years back.
Vertido claimed Morada alighted from the car when they reached his house and she transferred to the front seat. She added she was surprised when Custodio made a sudden turn towards Cabaguio Avenue and when she saw the sign "Bermuda Gateway Drive Inn," she grabbed the steering wheel and screamed.
Vertido added that Custodio dragged her from the car to the room and she locked herself in the bathroom. She said she was unable to escape when Custodio cornered her and succeeded in laying her on the bed.
She added that she lost consciousness and when she came to her senses, Custodio was already penetrating her. She said Custodio tried to calm her down and told her he will take her home.
Vertido said she alighted from the car at Bankerohan intersection and took a taxi home.
Custodio testimony
For the defense, Custodio admitted that he and Vertido were already engaged in flirtations long before he took her to a motel room. He said he got no objections from her even earlier on.
He testified that no rape took place because as they were engaged in heavy petting and were already on the bed, the room boy knocked to collect the payment of the room.
Custodio further said he had to wait for the room boy to come back with the change from his P500 bill and lost his arousal. He claimed that no amount of foreplay got any reaction from his manhood. He added that Vertido got dressed and said "it's okay" and they left the room.
The court ruled that although she showed resistance to Custodio's advances, there were many chances for Vertido to escape but she did not grab it. There was also no clear evidence of direct threat of grave harm coming from Custodio.
The court also did not accept the testimonies of psychiatrists Dr. June Pagaduan Lopez and Dr. Pureza T. Oņate because there were material details not made known to them when they did not question Vertido for fear of aggravating the stress she was undergoing at that time.
Further, the court said considering that Custodio is already in his sixties, the implied sexual prowess necessary to achieve what Vertido claims happened is simply unbelievable.
Fourth judge
The case was raffled and re-raffled to different RTC branches, with three judges earlier handling the case inhibiting from it.
RTC Branch 15 Judge Jesus Quitain first handled the case, but gave it up after five years.
RTC Branch 33 Judge Wenceslao Ibabao next handled the case, but had to inhibit from it after the prosecution panel questioned his impartiality.
The case was re-raffled to RTC Branch 14, but Judge William Layague also inhibited himself after the prosecution panel also questioned his impartiality.
Europa was the fourth judge who handled the case.
Prosecutor Raul Bendigo first dismissed the rape charges in 1996, but was reversed on appeal by Teofisto Guingona, then secretary of the Department of Justice, who ordered the filing of rape case.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (April 27, 2005 issue)
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