The Antipolo City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 97 has
dismissed the double murder case filed against former Philippine Air Force Lt.
Col. Eduardo "Red" Kapunan, in effect acquitting him of the death of
labor leader Rolando Olalia and his aide Leonor Alay-Ay in 1986.
This after Antipolo City RTC Branch 97 Presiding Judge Marie
Claire Mabutas-Sorda granted the demurrer to evidence filed by Kapunan.
A demurrer to evidence is in effect a motion to dismiss
filed by the accused after the prosecution finished its presentation of
evidence.
It is anchored on the ground that the evidence presented is
insufficient.
Kapunan's co-accused, namely: Sgts. Desiderio Perez, Dennis
Jabatan and newly-arrested Fernando Cassanova will remain behind bars.
The Antipolo City RTC granted bail for Kapunan a year after
he surrendered in 2012.
Olalia's cousin, Atty. Edre Olalia, secretary general of the
National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL), said that the court's decision is
"distressing and frustrating."
"The message is clear: lowly soldiers should not follow
illegal orders from superiors because they will walk free and you take the
fall," Olalia said.
The NUPL and the Public Interest Law Center (PILC) are
acting as private prosecutors in the case.
Olalia and Alay-ay were found dead in Antipolo City
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=891175
Rolando Olalia was the head of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU-May One Movement) labor federation and the president of the Partido ng Bayan (People's Party) both of which were Communist Party of the Philippines front organizations.
ReplyDeleteThe commies claimed that Olalia's murder was part of plot by a military faction (Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) of which former Philippine Air Force Lt. Col. Eduardo "Red" Kapunan was a prominent member.
As noted in the article above, the case against Kapunan was being prosecuted by the National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL) and the Public Interest Law Cencer (PILC) both of which are CPP-associated front organizations.