On Oct. 6, 2006, a Cebu City Regional Trial Court convicted three men of murdering journalist Marlene Esperat.

In a verdict hailed as a victory for press freedom, the court sentenced Estanislao Bismanos, Jerry Cabayag and Randy Grecia to a maximum of 40 years of prison each.

But the masterminds of the crime remain free.

Esperat, who began her career as Ombudsman of the Department of Agriculture in Central Mindanao (DA-12) before turning to journalism to fight corruption in the agency, was shot dead in her own house on the night of Maundy Thursday in 2005. She was dining with her daughters when the gunman entered the house.

Police investigators said the gunman even greeted his target with “Good evening, Ma’am,” before firing a single shot into her face.

Esperat died instantly. She was 45.

An opinion columnist in the weekly community newspaper Midland Review, Esperat reportedly received threats to her life because of her “exposés” on corruption and other issues.

The police provided her a security escort, but at that time she had allowed him to go on vacation because it was the Lenten season.

As resident Ombudsman at DA-12, Esperat filed charges against various agriculture officials.

She filed a graft complaint against Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, Undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante and several others in relation to alleged irregularities in a P432-million fertilizer deal in 2003.

She spent her own money to travel from Sultan Kudarat to Manila to gather evidence to back her allegations.

Esperat also filed graft charges against several ranking DA officials for the alleged smuggling of P23 million worth of chicken quarters from the United States in 2004.

She left the service because of what she described as her “disillusionment” with the government’s purported inability to fight graft. Eliza Victoria, Inquirer Research