On Target: Hill not qualified to testify as an expert
For a brilliant lawyer and renowned nationalist, former Sen. Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. seems to exhibit a colonial mentality when it comes to the controversial manner of death of Ensign Phillip Pestaño in 1995.
He believes in Wayne Hill Sr., an American stand-up comedian and former police officer, who claims that Pestaño was murdered.
The good ex-senator has rejected the findings of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Manila police, the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and a Filipino forensics expert that the young Navy officer had committed
suicide.
Agents of the NBI, Manila police and CIDG, as well as private forensics expert Dr. Raquel Fortun, scrutinized every detail inside the cabin where Pestaño died before they came up with their conclusions.
According to reports, Hill didn’t even bother to inspect the scene of the incident. He reportedly based his conclusions only on pictures and speculations.
Mr. Senator, just because Hill is an American, does it mean he’s more credible than Filipino forensics experts?
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Pimentel cited Hill’s long credentials, one of which is being a member of the American College of Forensics Examiners (ACFE).
However, the American Bar Association (ABA) has discredited ACFE for “giving credentials to those who lack expertise.”
The ABA cited Hill, a licensed gunsmith and former police officer from East Moline, Illinois, who calls himself a homicide events-reconstruction expert.
“(Hill) says he has testified in more than two dozen courts in 12 states and the Philippines.”
“But a judge in Baldwin County, Alabama, ruled last year that Hill wasn’t qualified to testify as an expert about anything,” said the ABA Journal.
Now, how come one still believes Hill?
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For engaging an immigration officer in a catfight, the passports of Annie Yamon Kotake and her companions were confiscated by immigration personnel at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on June 25.
Kotake, who owns a Japanese language school in Cavite province, has been falsely charged with human trafficking allegedly upon the orders of immigration supervisor Evita Makader.
Kotake reportedly had an altercation with Makader at the airport.
The Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking (IACAT) says there was no basis for charging Kotake with human trafficking as she and her companions were legitimate travelers.
Kotake’s companions were students in her Nihongo school who were on their way to Tokyo for further studies.
She is blaming Makader for the delay in her and her students’ departure for Tokyo where her Japanese husband and two teenage daughters are residing.
If her claims are true, Makader should be relieved of her airport assignment and returned to the main immigration office where she can learn the proper way of dealing with travelers.
Or she can be suspended for weeks or months to teach her a lesson in humility.
