The thruth prevail!!!!!

THE Supreme Court (SC) has reversed a decision issued by a regional trial court (RTC) three years ago denying the withdrawal of information against a former Cagayan town mayor and two others in connection with the killing of a lawyer and his daughter in 2003. In a 19-page decision written by Associate Justice Renato Corona, the SC Third Division upheld a 2006 ruling by the Court of Appeals (CA) that reversed the decision Judge Zenaida Daguna of the Regional Trial Court Branch 19 of Manila.

Judge Daguna had earlier denied the withdrawal of information for murder against former Buguey, Cagayan Mayor Licerio Antiporda Jr., his son Lloyd, also a former Buguey mayor, and Romulo Awingan.

“The petition is hereby denied. We hold that the CA committed no reversible error in granting the petitions for certiorari of respondents,” the SC ruled on the petition filed by petitioner Harold Tamargo, seeking to overturn the CA decision.

The High Tribunal further ruled that Judge Daguna committed grave abuse of discretion in denying the withdrawal of information for murder against the respondents since she had no sufficient basis for finding of probable cause against them.

Considering the paucity and inadmissibility of the evidence presented against the respondents, it would be unfair to hold them for trial. Once it is ascertained that no probable cause exists to form a sufficient belief as to the guilt of the accused, they should be relieved from the pain of going through a full blown court case,” the decision read.

Murder charges were pinned on the three respondents based on the testimony of a witness who claimed to have obtained, during a drinking spree, the admission of Lucio Columna who allegedly acted as a look out.

Columna allegedly claimed that he participated in the killing and pointed to the Antipordas as the mastermind and Awingan as the gunman in the shooting of lawyer Franklin Tamargo and his daughter Gail in Binondo, Manila on August 15, 2003. The respondents were arrested after probable cause was allegedly established.

Then-Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales ordered the withdrawal of information against the respondents after finding no probable cause but the petitioner filed an appeal. After further review, Gonzales granted the motion for reconsideration filed by the Antipordas and their co-accused.

But Daguna proceeded with the trial and the case was elevated to the appellate court which prohibited the trial judge from further proceeding with the case and ordered her to grant the motion to withdraw information for murder.

The appellate court also noted that the judge manifested her one-sidedness because she did not even consider that the only evidence against the accused at that point was Columna’s extrajudicial confession, which was not even corroborated by other evidence.