Colonel Ariel Querubin. INQUIRER Photo
MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon City prosecutor’s office has junked physical injury charges that were filed against Colonel Ariel Querubin and his wife.
Assistant city prosecutor Solivan Usman dismissed the slight physical injuries complaint filed by Major Jason Aquino against the couple in 2009 when he and Colonel Querubin were detained over an alleged plot to oust then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The complaint stemmed from an incident at the Camp Aguinaldo detention facility where Querubin and Aquino were detained in connection with a supposed coup d’etat against the former president.
Aquino, the junior of the two, alleged that Querubin and his wife Maria Flor pushed and hit him as he was returning to his cell after receiving a visitor.
The complainant added that as a result, he had to go to the hospital to treat his injuries in the foot and right arm. He also had the incident recorded on the police blotter of the Kamuning police station.
The couple denied hurting the military officer, saying Aquino fell backwards when Querubin confronted him for allegedly arguing with Maria Flor.
Usman noted that what was clear was that both parties admitted that there was an argument between Mrs. Querubin, who was visiting her husband, and Aquino.
In a three-page resolution, the investigating prosecutor said Querubin’s supposed act of pushing Aquino was not a crime as it may have been in defense of his wife.
Thus, the prosecutor said Querubin could not be held liable for any injury that the complainant may sustained from the push.
As to the allegation that Maria Flor hit Aquino in the nose, Usman noted inconsistencies in Aquino’s complaint and reply affidavit.
The prosecutor said it was only in the reply affidavit that Aquino mentioned being hit in the nose by Mrs. Querubin, casting doubt as to whether he was really hit or not.
Usman added that under the Katarungan Pambarangay Law, the complaint must first undergo conciliation proceedings at the barangay (village) level.
Both Aquino and Querubin, along with other military officers, were charged with mutiny for the alleged 2006 coup d’etat.
In February 2011, Aquino was among those cleared of the charges by a military court while Querubin was not.
He applied for and was granted amnesty under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III a month later.