BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
ILOILO City – For lack of sufficient evidence, the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the complaint for murder filed against a suspect in the killing of Romeo Capalla, brother of retired Archbishop Fernando Capalla.
Julie Cabino and four other unidentified men were charged with shooting Capalla, 65, to death on March 15, 2014 in front of the public market of Oton, Iloilo.
Witnesses said two gunmen with three “back-ups” hurriedly fled on two motorcycles toward Tigbauan, Iloilo after the shooting.
Cabino was identified as one of the back-ups.
Senior Inspector Jigger Gimeno, officer-in-charge of the Oton police station, filed the complaint.
Provincial Prosecutor Bernabe Dusaban ordered the case’s dismissal.
“From all indications, it would show that respondent Cabino was not the same person who acted as back-up in the killing of Capalla. The identity of the perpetrator is a must to secure criminal conviction,” stated Dusaban.
Capalla, director of the Panay Fair Trade Center (PFTC), died of two gunshot wounds on the head.
PFTC is a private firm that helps small farmers in Panay Island. It buys their agricultural products such as banana chips, muscovado (brown) sugar and ginger tea, and exports these to Europe and the United States.
Capalla was a commander of the Corazon Chiva “Waling-Waling” Command of the New People’s Army’s Komiteng Rehiyon Panay in the late 1970s to the early 1980s.
He was arrested in August 2005 for allegedly setting on fire a construction firm’s facility in Guimbal, Iloilo in 2004 but was released after spending 32 days in detention. The court ruled there was no sufficient evidence against him.
Retired Archbishop Fernando Capalla, former president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, condemned the killing of his brother and called for an investigation.
His brother was unarmed when attacked, said the bishop.
Friday last week, August 15, in a gathering at the PFTC in Sitio Manaue, Oton, some of Capalla’s family members, a number of farmers and representatives from PFTC’s foreign partners iCOOP Korea and Altromercato demanded justice.
“We do not want vengeance. We only want those responsible for Tatay’s death to answer for the crime,” said daughter Romina.
Among those calling for justice was Rudi Dalvai, board member of Altromercato, an Italian partner of PFTC. He told Panay News he had been in contact with the organization since 1991.
“When I heard about his death… it was a shock. We knew there was pressure on PFTC five years ago…But we never thought it would go this far in such a brutal way,” Dalvai said.
A fact-finding commission created to seek justice for Capalla’s killing met with Iloilo’s Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. Friday last week.
“With the governor now, we expect to achieve two things: One is to ask for real investigation. It’s strange that officials here do not know what is going on. We wrote to the Philippine Embassy in Germany and they gave us names of people who were responsible. We wrote to the Department of Justice and they gave us names of people who were responsible. But here, local officials do not know anything. Something is very strange,” said Dalvai.
Governor Defensor assured the group he will make sure Capalla’s case will be solved the soonest time possible.
“Ginpasalig ko sila nga tinguhaon ta ang tanan para mapasakaan panumbungon ang mga nagpatay ukon nagpapatay kay Capalla,” said the governor./PN
