Bacolod City in Negros Occidental. (Image from Google Maps)
MANILA, Philippines — A Bacolod Court has found two Army soldiers guilty of the murder of Benjamin Bayles, Bayan Muna coordinator and a member of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente.
In a decision made public Monday, the Bacolod City Regional Trial Court Branch 42 meted the penalty of up to 40 years imprisonment against Rafael Cordova a.k.a. Roger Bajon, and Reygine G. Laus a.k.a. Ronnie Caurino.
Bajon and Caurino were also ordered to pay the heirs of Bayles a total of P300,000 for civil, moral, and exemplary damages.
The case
Bayles was shot to death on June 14, 2010, in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, by two men wearing helmets and sweatshirts on board a black motorcycle.
One of the witnesses, John Rey Mayongue, said they were on their way home when they noticed a motorcycle stopped by on the side of the road where they were supposed to pass.
He positively identified Bajon as the first who shot Bayles.
“I saw Benie jerking, falling in the canal…He just continues firing,” the witness said adding that Caurino followed Bajon and also started shooting at Bayles.
His testimony was corroborated by another witness, a tricycle driver who was also in the area when the incident happened.
As it turned out, as early as April, there were soldiers inquiring about Bayles and the witness also identified both Bajon and Caurino.
Both the accused, who admitted being members of the Intelligence Division of the Philippine Army denied involvement in the killing.
They said they were on leave from June 11 t 14, 2010, and were passing along Kabankalan City when they were stopped and arrested by the police.
The ruling
The court said the testimonies of the witnesses “when taken together with other pieces of evidence constituting an unbroken chain, leads to a fair and reasonable conclusion that the accused is the author of the crime…”
The court added that the affirmative testimony of the witnesses is “far stronger” than the denial of the accused.
It noted that the two accused admitted that they were within the area of the incident when the crime happened it was “therefore not physically impossible for the accused to have been at the scene of the crime at the time of its commission.”
The court added that while the two accused tested negative in the paraffin test and ballistic examination of the slugs recovered from the scene of the crime, the court said “accused could have easily used different.45 caliber firearms. It was also possible that they surrendered to the police a firearm different from one they actually used to kill the victim.”
“From the entirety of the testimonial and documentary evidence proffered by the prosecution, this Court is of the considered view that, the prosecution was able to establish the guilt of the accused by that quantum of proof sufficient to produce a moral certainty that would convince the conscience of those who are to act in judgment,” the court added.
A time for everything
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), whose members acted as private prosecutors, said that, although they have waited more than a decade before two army personnel were convicted for Bayles’ death, “these speak volumes. Yet it is not lost on us that justice will come later even if not sooner.”
“This is for you, Ben Bayles, and Ben Ramos, the latter who was with us to see this through before he himself was killed in 2018. We have to acknowledge the role our partners in the prosecution played too,” Edre Olalia, NUPL president said.
“This is a clear message and warning to those who think there is immunity for impunity. But most of all, this is for those still waiting for justice to be served. Have faith. It will come somehow, sometime,” he added.