Gov’t prosecutors to fight new bid to dismiss kidnap raps vs 2 military officers

MANILA, Philippines–The government panel prosecuting former Major General Jovito Palparan and other military officers for the 2006 disappearance of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño are ready to fight yet another move to dismiss the case, again from two of the accused who surrendered three years ago.

Assistant Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera, head of the prosecution team, has said the panel would oppose a motion that accused Lieutenant Colonel Felipe Anotado and Staff Sgt. Edgardo Osorio filed just before the holiday break to quash the charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention against them.

The two accused, who surrendered in December 2011 and pleaded not guilty to the crime, asked the Malolos Regional Trial Court in December to dismiss the charges, questioning the jurisdiction of a civilian court over them.

“They filed a motion to quash on the grounds that they cannot be covered by a civilian court because they are soldiers, and that they should instead face court martial,” said Navera when reached by phone.

“But if they are arguing that the court has no jurisdiction, then they are implying that what happened was part of their job. Kidnapping is not part of the performance of their duties as soldiers,” he said, asserting that the Department of Justice has jurisdiction over all criminal cases.

The motion was among several that the accused had separately filed to have the case dismissed, and the prosecution panel has already lost count. The Bulacan court had many times ruled against such pleas.

“We don’t know anymore how to count them,” Navera said.

He said Anotado and Osorio earlier filed the same motion on different grounds, but lost. Palparan, who was arrested in August after nearly three years in hiding, also lost in earlier moves to have the charges against him dismissed.

The first motion even reached the Court of Appeals, said Navera, but the appellate court also upheld the lower court’s ruling.

“The period to file such a motion has already lapsed. A motion to quash can only be filed before the accused are arraigned,” said the prosecutor.

Osorio and Anotado were arraigned in 2012, while Palparan was arraigned last year.