Tension grips courtroom in case of missing students

Tension gripped the courtroom at the preliminary investigation on Tuesday into the case of missing student activists Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño as state prosecutors and private lawyers argued the issue of whether a witness should be allowed to point out a man in the crowd alleged to be one of the kidnappers of the missing women.

The case involved a criminal complaint filed by the mothers of Cadapan and Empeño against retired military general Jovito Palparan and several others for the abduction, disappearance, rape and torture among others, of the students who disappeared in 2006.

The lawyers for the complainants informed the panel of prosecutors that one of the “John Does” in their complaint was seated in the gallery and a witness, Wilfredo Ramos, would identify the man.

People sat up in their seats and craned their necks, looking around for the possible suspect.

However, Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera, who chairs the prosecution panel, put his foot down. He said it was incumbent upon the complainants to identify the suspects in their complaint and that the prosecution panel was not going to help them gather the evidence.

Moreover, the man in the crowd would be denied due process as he would not be able to immediately formally counter Ramos’ claim, Navera said.

But lawyer Edre Olalia, counsel for Cadapan and Empeño, said the “dilemma” for the complainants was that the witness did not know the man’s name but could only recognize his face.

“How can we identify him?” Olalia said.

Palparan’s lawyer, Narzal Mallares, also opposed the complainants’ move, claiming “this could result in a domino effect, with such a thing as conspiracy.”

Navera and another prosecutor, Ethel Suril, eventually rejected Olalia’s motion.