Roxas Night Market blast victims demand a final decision on case

From the Davao Today (Sep 2, 2019): Roxas Night Market blast victims demand a final decision on case

Three years after the bloody Roxas Night Market bombing incident, victims asked the court to speed up the trial.

On Sunday, one of the victims who asked to be unnamed for her security said that they have been waiting three years for the Court’s decision. They have been expecting a court decision favorable for the victims as many lives were lost and many families suffered because of the incident.

“What we want is immediate justice for us victims, for our colleagues, and their families. This all we want,” she said.

In an interview with Taguig City Prosecutor Vincent Villena, who was in attendance of the holy mass in Roxas Night Market memorial park for the third commemoration, he said “the court might come up” with a decision on the case this year.

Villena is confident that the evidence they presented to the court against the seven accused can sustain a verdict of conviction saying their “evidence can prove it beyond reasonable doubt”.

“We have witnesses who saw and found the perpetrators,” said Villena.

The star witness identified the seven accused people as members of the Maute group who did the attack as part of their “initiation”. Aside from the star witness, authorities and victims of the blast have already filed their statement to the prosecution.

However, Villena said the court hearing will also tackle the motion for bail filed by the accused claiming that the evidence is weak. Currently, all seven accused are detained in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig, after a transfer from Davao City Jail for security reasons.

“It’s also their right to file a motion but we are confident that the court will deny it,” he added.

Another victim also reacted to hear about the motion for bail filed by the accused.

In an interview, she told Davao Today that granting temporary freedom to the accused will only “add salt to their wounds” as victims of the blast.

“You see, all of us here wanted them to rot in jail. They took a lot of lives including mine. Granting them even a temporary freedom would only add wounds to our heart. I hope the court will deny it,” she said.

Back in 2016, the victim who also asked to hide her identity, was a massage therapist in Roxas Night Market. After the blast, she lost he left leg that prompted her to lose her work.

Her current condition limits her ability to earn a living and help her family.

On September 02, 2016, 15 persons were killed and another 70 were wounded in a bomb explosion on a busy Friday night at the Roxas Night Market.

http://davaotoday.com/main/politics/roxas-night-market-blast-victims-demand-a-final-decision-on-case/