Murder spinoffs

The Inquirer and CDN column “Cozy Amnesia” (Viewpoint / Aug 21 ) gives the “names of two people still alive who, according to (columnist ) Rodel Rodis “know all too well who ordered the hit on Ninoy”, writes historian-economist Benito Legarda Jr.

“They are unlikely to tell, and for all anyone knows, one of them could be it. (But ) is there any possibility of recalling those who declined to testify – from the airport mechanic to Galman’s stepdaughter?

What about querying those known to be involved like Col. Vicente, Tigas and the driver of the van that took hours to deliver the bodies to the morgue? Where is Capt. Valerio, who told the Agrava Panel he would tell them everything, but disappeared the following day?

The statute of limitations does not run when one is abroad. Can Col. Romeo Ochoco be extradited from the U.S.? During the 20 years the guilty soldiers were in jail, their families were well provided for financially. Is it possible to identify the source of funds?

No, it’s not realistic to expect Imelda Marcos or Eduardo Cojuangco to “sing” about the Benigno Aquino murder, writes Engr. Leonor Lagsca of Iloilo City . They’ll wait in however-gotten material comfort until Judgement Day. That’s when, all of us will be made to account even for the last idle word we uttered.

Ferdinand Marcos boasted that he created a “command society”. The top man had all power. Marcos, thereby, hogged all responsibility, as People Power stressed. Ninoy’s murder occurred in a “command society.” In return, history locked him out from the Libingnan Ng Mga Bayani. Like Ninoy and Cory, the late DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo never sought such honor

But today we must ask about others linked to Ninoy murder’s by M/Sgt Pablo Martinez. A born-again Christian, he “preached from the housetops” what the other convicted soldiers refused to do.

Martinez claimed that businessman Herminio Gosuico, was present when Ochoco, and Gen. Romeo Gatan of Philippine Constabulary ordered him to escort Galman from a hotel airport to the tarmac, Gen. Gatan nor Gosuico were never charged with involvement in the conspiracy.

Gen. Gatan died of a heart ailment. “Did Gosuico die of illness or accident, or was he eliminated because he knew too much?, columnist Antonio Abaya asked years back. Can a follow up enquiry bring back Ochoco who reportedly fled with his family to somewhere in Stockton, California.

Re “Cozy Amnesia” column: “ I agree completely with Fr. Nebres, S.J. that “we have little collective memory of the past”, e-mails retired De La Salle professor Adelaida Bago. “That’s why many evils of the past continue to recur despite efforts by men of goodwill to create a better future for Filipinos. In “A Moon for the Misbegotten” as Eugene O’Neill wrote:“ There is no present or future, only the past, happening over and over again, now.”

“And whose fault is it?,” Angioline Loredo comments from Hoboken, New Jersey. “I think everybody’s – the schools’, the church’s, the social institutions’, the adults’ ( including myself ), etc. Having said that, maybe we should stop whining about the absence of “collective memory” and each of us do our little bit in raising children who will grow up to be good adults, good citizens – regardless.

“I’m not quite as despairing as the people quoted in the Viewpoint column. History teaches us, among others, that things eventually get “corrected.” Maybe not to our liking (those of us older generation) – but hey, it’s the younger generation’s life. Let them make their own life, mistakes and all. Boy, I am getting old – and conservative.”

The column “Cozy Amnesia” should be “incorporated in our elementary textbooks before it is totally forgotten,” writes Zeferino Arroyo from Quezon City. “It makes one get the feel of the cruelty (that ) Marcos and his tribe inflicted on us…. Imelda and Bongbong, never showed any remorse for what the Marcoses did.

“I recall that day Ninoy was shot, lying face down on the tarmac. No one bothered to check if he was still alive. Instead, a group of soldiers threw him like a slaughtered pig into the waiting van. I’ve been hoping that that particular video clip would surface, sooner or later, that my guess is that the same tribe must have confiscated it to suppress their act of cruelty.”

“Cozy Amensia” will perform further public service if throws light on lowly servicemen, linked to the 16-year-old murder of Navy Ensign Philip Pestaño”, who vanished, says Dr. Carolina Camara of Butuan. The ensign refused to load 14,000 board feet of illegal logs, weapons and shabu, on the RPS Bacolod.

Was it not Inquirer columnist Raul Pangalangan who revealed that the UN Commission on Human Rights, in Geneva said three comrades of Pestano “all died or disappeared in mysterious circumstances.” Zosimo Villanueva Tawi-Tawi naval station tipped off Pestaño on the hot logs and shabu and was “lost at sea while on a mission.” “Foul play is suspected,” the UN said.

Ship radio operator Fidel Tagaytay was summoned to Navy Headquarters. His wife Leonila reports Fidel disappeared. There has been “no action or investigation by the Navy,” the UN adds. Ensign Alvin Farone contacted Marissa, Pestaño’s sister, saying he wanted “to tell what really happened to Philip.” He died before he could do so.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales has filed murder charges against 10 Navy officers. This is welcome. This no-nonsense investigator should also look into faceless enlisted men who have no voice.”