Ex-rebel gets 10 years in jail for Agusan Sur mining exec slay

Agusan del Sur map. INQUIRER FILES

PROSPERIDAD, AGUSAN DEL SUR — The confessed killer of a mining executive in Agusan del Sur was meted a 10-year prison term by a court in this town on Wednesday, Nov. 15, two years after the victim’s death.

Provincial prosecutor Ceferino Dino Paredes said Jeffrey Mamerto, a former New People’s Army guerrilla, pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of homicide, instead of murder, as he entered into a plea bargaining agreement during a pre-trial hearing at the Regional Trial Court Branch 6.

As a result, the court sent Mamerto to prison for 10 years, Paredes added.

Mamerto, who is detained at the Agusan del Sur provincial jail, has been facing a murder charge for allegedly pulling the trigger against retired Army Colonel Samuel Afdal on Oct. 26, 2021 in Barangay Santa Cruz, Rosario town, while the latter was driving toward a new mining prospect.

Afdal used to be president and chief executive officer of Philsaga Mining Corp., which operates a gold mining tenement in Rosario under a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement with the government. He later sold his interests in the company to start a new one as well as engage in the minerals drilling business in the area.

When he was at the helm of Philsaga, Afdal struck a path-breaking deal with the Manobo tribe that stipulated royalty payments way higher than what was mandated by law. He was also known for his philanthropic initiatives in the province.

Several weeks before Wednesday’s pre-trial hearing, Mamerto executed a judicial affidavit owning-up to the kill job against Afdal for a promised reward of P50,000.

In his confession, Mamerto also pointed to three more co-conspirators, one of whom he tagged as the mastermind. This became the basis for filing a complaint for murder against three more suspects at the provincial prosecutor’s office in October.

On Wednesday, Nov. 15, Afdal’s widow, Evelyn, entered the courtroom calmly to attend the hearing, accompanied by her legal team as well as several siblings of her late husband.

Although he initially survived the attack, Afdal eventually succumbed to his gunshot wounds on Nov. 15, 2021 while being treated in a hospital.

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