Pimentel allowed to prosecute Pestaño case

The Office of the Ombudsman has allowed former Sen. Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. to serve as a private prosecutor in the trial of 10 Navy officers accused of killing a junior officer 17 years ago.

The authorization, however, needs to be approved by the Third Division of the Sandiganbayan, which is handling the case involving the 1995 death of Ensign Philip Pestaño.  The Ombudsman’s Office of the Special Prosecutor has brought a motion asking the Third Division to approve the authorization for Pimentel and his law firm.

Pestaño’s parents had asked Pimentel to represent them in the trial and to actively prosecute the case on their behalf.

In allowing Pimentel to handle the case, the special prosecutor noted that under the rules, the private complainant may intervene with his own lawyer in the prosecution of a criminal case that has a civil liability.

Pimentel, however, will work under the supervision of the public prosecutor, unless the authority given to him is revoked.

The special prosecutor also asked the court to accept the supplemental opposition filed earlier by Pimentel on behalf of the Pestaños, challenging the Navy officers’ motion that sought the dismissal of the murder case.

The Navy officers said the case should be dismissed because under the Sandiganbayan law, the court only has jurisdiction over naval captains and higher-ranking officers. They said Ricardo Ordoñez, the highest ranking officer charged, was a lieutenant commander at the time of Pestaño’s death, so he does not fall under the court’s jurisdiction. They pointed out that Ordoñez had already retired when the case was filed in January. Ordoñez left the military in 2005. They also said their case should be handled by a court-martial.

But in his opposition, Pestaño’s father Felipe contended that what mattered in determining jurisdiction was the rank of the accused at the time of the filing of the case. The Sandiganbayan, he said, had jurisdiction because Ordoñez was a naval captain when the case was filed in court. Murder, he said, does not fall under the service-connected offenses that could be handled by a court-martial, as provided for in the law strengthening civilian supremacy over the military and returning to civil courts’ jurisdiction over certain offenses involving the military.

Philip Pestaño was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head aboard the Navy ship BRP Bacolod City in September 1995. His superiors on the vessel reported that he committed suicide. But the Ombudsman overturned their findings and brought murder charges against them in January.

Aside from Ordoñez, those charged were Cmdr. Reynaldo Lopez, Hospital Man 2 Welmenio Aquino, Lt. Cmdr. Luidegar Casis, Lt. Cmdr. Alfrederick Alba, Machinery Repairman 2 Sandy Miranda, Lt. Cmdr. Joselito Colico, Lt. Cmdr. Ruben Roque, PO1 Carlito Amoroso and PO2 Mil Leonor Igcasan.