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[av_heading heading=’Dismissal of criminal raps on Escalante killings hit’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY MAE SINGUAY
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Monday, March 6, 2017
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BACOLOD City – The legal counsel of the alleged victims of extrajudicial killings in Escalante City, Negros Occidental lambasted the court’s decision dismissing the criminal charges – three counts of murder and one frustrated murder – against now Cong. Melecio Yap of the 1st District and his co-accused for lack of probable cause.
The solon and the other co-accused were charged for the death of some 28 Escalantehanons who were known supporters of former Escalante mayor Santiago Barcelona, the political rival of Yap when both sought the mayoralty seat in 2007.
According to Atty. Luke Espiritu, just this Dec. 8, 2016 the Ombudsman issued a resolution and an endorsement to the Escalante City Prosecutor’s Office stating that the criminal cases filed against Yap and others have probable cause.
Last month, however, Judge Danilo Amisola of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 57 ruled that the evidences presented and evaluated did not meet the standards of probable cause to justify the issuance of an arrest warrant against the respondents.
“The act of omission complained of does not constitute the offense charged,” the court stressed. According to Espiritu, the dismissal order was “a sorry attempt to cover the truth with a purple robe.”
“A fair and exhaustive trial should have unearthed the truth about the Escalante massacre,” said Espiritu.
He said the families of the dead have eyewitness accounts, admissions from alleged assassins, and documentary admissions./PN
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