Widow of Antique lawyer says killing unjustified

ILOILO CITY—The widow of a slain lawyer in Antique is calling for justice for her husband.

In a statement read at the wake of her husband, John Mark Espera, lawyer Ruby Espera said her husband’s death was devastating, especially for their two children.

“This tragedy is even more devastating due to the manner by which his life was taken from us. His death was untimely, unexpected and, most of all, unjustified,” she said.

John Mark, 39, died of multiple bullet wounds on Aug. 31 in Barangay (village) Pu-ao in Hamtic, about 12 kilometers from the capital town of San Jose.

John Mark’s family filed a murder complaint in the Antique Provincial Prosecutors Office against PO3 Jose Suarez and his brothers, Virgilio, Raymond and Rico.

Based on the initial police investigation, John Mark and Virgilio engaged in a fistfight before the lawyer was gunned down by the policeman and his brothers.

PO3 Suarez, who was assigned to the Tobias Fornier police office, surrendered a few hours after the shooting. He is now detained at the Antique Bureau of Jail Management and Penology facility in San Jose.

Suarez turned over an M-16 rifle, believed to be that of John Mark, and a 9-mm pistol along with ammunition from the firearms. His brothers remain at large.

The policeman has reportedly claimed that John Mark strafed their house before the lawyer was shot.

Ruby, however, belied  the allegations.

“To set the record straight, John Mark never fired a gun. His paraffin test result confirms this,” she said.

Ruby also defended her husband amid personal criticisms against the slain lawyer, including the allegation that he was hot-tempered.

“John Mark was far from perfect, just as no one is. But his passion for truth and justice, genuine compassion for those in need, sincerity, selflessness and deep love for his family will always be a legacy by which I want him to be remembered,” she said.

The incident is believed to be an offshoot of political rivalries between the Fullon-Pacificador and Javier clans, who are traditional political rivals in Antique.

John Mark is a grandnephew of former assemblyman and now provincial Board Member Arturo Pacificador.

The slain lawyer was also the legal counsel of his cousin and Hamtic Mayor Julius Ronald Pacificador in the election violation case filed by Rico Suarez against the mayor after the May elections.

The Suarezes are supporters of Antique Gov. Exequiel Javier and the governor’s cousin, Jose Javier, who ran but lost to Mayor Pacificador in the May elections.

Board Member Pacificador was tagged the mastermind in the Feb. 11, 1986, murder of his arch political rival, former Antique Gov. Evelio Javier, elder brother of the governor.

On Oct. 12, 2004, the Antique Regional Trial Court acquitted Arturo Pacificador and three of his coaccused in the murder of Javier and the wounding of several others. But eight others were convicted.