What Went Before: ‘Abadilla 5’

On Sept. 15, 2010, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and life sentences on the five men collectively known as the “Abadilla 5” for the 1996 murder of Col. Rolando Abadilla, a military officer of the Marcos regime with a fearsome reputation.

The five accused—Lenido Lumanog, Cesar Fortuna, Joel de Jesus, Rameses de Jesus and Augusto Santos—claimed they were innocent and accused their police captors of torturing them into admitting the crime.

On Oct. 8, the accused—referred to as the Abadilla 5—asked the high court to reverse their guilty verdict. However, on Feb. 8, 2011, the Supreme Court threw out their motion for reconsideration with finality.

On June 13, 1996, Abadilla, an intelligence chief of the now-defunct Philippine Constabulary who gained notoriety as an alleged torturer of political prisoners during the martial law period, was ambushed and killed while driving on Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City. He was 54.

In a statement issued to media, the communist hit squad Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB) claimed responsibility for the killing.

Six days later, police arrested tricycle driver Joel de Jesus of Fairview, Quezon City, citing information provided by security guard Freddie Alejo, who claimed to have witnessed the killing.

Joel de Jesus was allegedly tortured in implicating his neighbors—Lumanog, Rameses de Jesus, Fortuna and Santos—leading to their arrest.  Lumanog and Fortuna were tagged as the gunmen, and the three others the lookouts.

Police elicited confessions from the five suspects, who all said they had been tortured into admitting to the crime. They said they were beaten up, electrocuted, suffocated and given the “water treatment” by policemen. The police denied the allegations of torture.

In August 1999, despite allegations of torture by the accused and the admission of responsibility by the ABB, Quezon City Judge Jaime Salazar found the Abadilla 5 guilty beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced them to death.

The case was submitted to the Supreme Court for automatic review.

In 2005, the Supreme Court transferred the case review to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed the murder conviction on April 1, 2008.

The London-based Amnesty International denounced the entire judicial process that the Abadilla 5 were subjected to.

“If torture takes place and confessions are coerced, how can the right to a fair trial be upheld and the risk of judicial error reduced?” Amnesty International asked.

In January 2011, the Office of the Ombudsman filed in the Sandiganbayan criminal complaints against the policemen who allegedly tortured and violated the rights of the five men following renewed calls from the Abadilla 5 and their families to resolve their complaints against the law enforcers, which had been pending before various government agencies for 14 years.

On April 11, “for humanitarian reasons and as a matter of principle,” Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she would endorse to Malacañang the plea for pardon of the Abadilla 5.

On June 11, members of the convicted group sent a letter, signed in their own blood, to President Aquino, asking for his compassion.

“We’re no longer seeking justice, we just appeal for your understanding… give us a chance to be reunited with our families through a presidential clemency or parole. We are begging, knocking on your heart to grant our appeal for freedom,” read part of the letter, written in Filipino.  Inquirer Research

Source: Inquirer Archives