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BACOLOD CITY — A pastor of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) and his seven co-accused have finally been freed from prison after more than five years behind bars.
UCCP Pastor Jimie Teves and his “churchmates” Jodito Montesino, Jeppy Romano, Jasper Aguyong, Rogelio Sabanal, Eliseo Andres and Rodrigo Medes stepped out of the Negros Occidental District Jail in Bago City on Nov. 19.
Another one of the accused, Susan Medes, was freed on Monday, Nov. 18.
Teves and his co-accused known as the “Himamaylan 7,” were acquitted of two counts of murder and seven counts of frustrated murder.
The case is in connection with the death of two Army soldiers–PFC Vicente Marcon and Sgt. Sandy Arevalo–and the injury of seven others.
This happened in an encounter in Barangay Tan-awan, Kabankalan City on May 12, 2018, two days before barangay elections.
Judge Rodney Magbanua of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 61 in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental found no sufficient evidence against Teves and his companions.
The Inquirer tried to get a statement from the Army to no avail.
Lawyer Rey Gorgonio, the counsel of the accused, was elated with the court’s decision, saying his clients were red-tagged and falsely accused by authorities.
“We sympathize with the families of those who died and were injured in the encounter, but it is also wrong to imprison those who were innocent of the charges. It does not result in justice but rather exacerbates injustice,” Gorgonio said in a statement.
Except for Teves, the other accused worked as farmers in Barangay Buenavista, Himamaylan, Gorgonio said.
Teves testified that he is a pastor of the UCCP and the other accused were his church mates.
They are also members of Tribu Ituman which is an Indigenous People’s group whose goal is to help farmers.
“Church leaders expressed relief over the acquittal, calling it a victory for truth and justice. The acquittal of Pastor Teves and company is an answered prayer of the whole church,” the UCCP said in a statement.
“It also serves as a testament to the power of community support,” it added.
The UCCP has been vocal throughout the trial, offering support to the Himamaylan 7, denouncing what they described as a “miscarriage of justice.”
In its ruling released on Monday, the court considered the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses as insufficient to prove the guilt of the accused.
“A criminal case rises and falls on the strength of the prosecution’s evidence and not on the weakness of the defense,” Magbanua said.
While the prosecution may have successfully established that all the elements for the crime of murder are present in this case, the court said it cannot render a judgement establishing a finding of guilt when the identity of the perpetrators in the crime is doubtful.
“The accused offered no other evidence but the twin defenses of denial and alibi. They said they were preparing for the elections on May 14, 2018,” the judge noted.
“But while denial and alibi are, indeed, inherently weak defenses, these cannot be simply rejected when the peculiar circumstances of their arrest and their out-of-court identification cast serious doubts on the reliability of the eyewitnesses’ testimonies,” he concluded.