By REYNARD MAGTOTO
Bulatlat.com
LEGAZPI CITY, Albay – A Masbate court dismissed the murder case filed against local radio broadcasters who are members of the Masbate Quad Media Society Inc. (MQMSI) due to lack of probable cause.
In a three-page decision issued last Aug. 30, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 49 Judge Teofilo Tambago ordered the dismissal of the murder case filed against broadcasters Ramesis Sison and Benjamin Gigante; and former member Jay Alfaro.
The case stems from earlier accusations that they were part of those who killed a certain Virgil Arriesgado on Aug. 12, 2022. Among the allegations included that the journalists were also New People’s Army (NPA) fighters.
In his decision, the judge said that he found inconsistencies in the testimonies against the radio broadcasters, saying that such evidence is “similar” to an already dismissed case in 2023. He therefore re-evaluated the records of both cases.
Tambago said he no longer entertained the plea of the accused for reinvestigation upon learning “glaring inconsistencies” and instead “recalled the Warrant of Arrest and ordered for the presentation of additional evidence as it doubted the existence of probable cause against all accused.”
“With their testimonies and demeanor in testifying, the Court is convinced that probable cause does not exist against all the accused, thus the case warrants dismissal,” Tambago said.
He added that there was no disclosure that a similar case on the same incident was previously filed and later dismissed by a Philippine court.
“When the case against us was dismissed, we were elated. The decision is a milestone in defending and fighting for press freedom,” said Sison, also former chairperson of the Masbate chapter of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).
Another murder case still pending
However, Sison said that there is still a pending murder case against him and fellow broadcaster and co-accused Gigante. Filed only last month, they were accused of the killing of a certain Richard Bauso on April 6, 2024 in Brgy. Taberna, Cawayan, Masbate.
“Fear almost enveloped us but we managed to muster enough courage, we regrouped, discussed, and finally agreed to find shelter while looking for a counsel to represent us in court,” said Sison.
Last month, a Masbate court withdrew the arrest warrant and ordered a re-investigation of the case.
“Since the Bauso [pending] and Arriesgado [dismissed] murder cases have both been tagged by the police as the handiwork of the NPA, the accusation of the media workers’s involvement in both killings had effectively tagged them as members of the NPA and their arrest will deprive them of the right to bail during investigation and trial,” MQMSI said.
Why these murder charges
MQMSI is a group of local radio broadcasters based in Masbate, with members advocating for critical reportage on corruption and other social issues. Sison, one of the accused, is currently writing about the alleged ghost infrastructure projects in the Masbate province.
The group said that murder charges against their members happened because of their decision to file graft and plunder complaints against Masbate Governor Antonio Kho before the Office of the Ombudsman late last year and earlier this year.
“We are for truth and justice. We will not risk our lives over unfounded complaints. Though I am not one of the complainants, we are (united as) an organization,” Sison said.
According to NUJP, the trumped-up charges against them are meant to harass the media workers in the province. “These cases may be a retaliatory response to graft complaints filed by the respondents against the provincial government.”
“The appropriate way for officials to address corruption allegations is by confronting them directly and enhancing public access to government information, rather than targeting journalists with legal actions,” NUJP said.
One of the accused in the dismissed case, Alfaro, however, withdrew his charges against these government officials. He was no longer charged with the new murder charge filed against the radio broadcasters.
Earlier, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Bicol has also assessed the red-tagging incidents experienced by Sison and his fellow journalists. (JJE, DAA)
