8-yr-old Gregorio Banal murder case nears end

After eight years and eight judges, the killing of mayoral candidate Gregorio Banal in Tampakan, South Cotabato, in 2004 will finally see resolution.

Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 6 is set to hand down today the verdict in the murder case filed against Bienvenido Barroso, former mayor of Tampakan and principal suspect in Banal’s killing.

Presiding Judge Jansen Rodriguez scheduled the promulgation for 8:30 a.m. Rodriguez is the eighth judge to try the case after earlier judges inhibited themselves.

The murder case, which received much attention in Mindanao, was transferred to Manila by the Supreme Court.

Banal was slain in broad daylight on July 28, 2004, in his jeep parked on Kamagong Street. Three men on a motorcycle shot him several times, killing him instantly.

Banal ran for Tampakan mayor under the Lakas-CMD in the May 2004 elections but lost to Mayor Claudius Barroso, the accused’s father.

The confessed gunman, who turned state’s evidence, positively identified Bienvenido and Henry Barroso as the masterminds of the killing.

Police arrested Bienvenido Barroso at the town hall days after he assumed office as mayor. He is detained at the Manila City jail.

Henry, Bienvenido’s uncle, remains at large despite efforts to find him. Other suspects identified by the gunman as members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front under the late commander Jack Andatuan likewise remain free.