After 11 years in jail, NDF  man wrongfully accused in ambush of soldiers ordered freed

THE Quezon City Regional Trial Branch 98 ordered the immediate release of a consultant for the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) after the government “miserably failed” to prove he was the accused responsible for the ambush of members of the Philippine Army early 2000.
QCRTC Branch 98 Judge Marilou Runes-Tamang ordered the immediate release of political prisoner Eduardo Serrano because he was not the accused Rogelio Villanueva.

“The representatives of the State miserably failed its primary duty to identify the identity of the accused at the cost of horror of Serrano being prosecuted for 11 bygone years,” the court said.

Serrano, a consultant for the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) for the peace process, was illegally arrested on May 2, 2004 based on warrants against a certain Rogelio Villanueva.

The court said Serrano was illegally arrested, his name was inserted in the Commitment Order, inserted his name as one of the aliases of accused Villanueva and was charged without the benefit of preliminary investigation.

“How can this court continue to bestow upon the person of Serrano the suffering of varied monikers of Rogelio Villanueva for the crimes that the latter allegedly committed? When in fact, from the records of the case, there was not a single affidavit submitted by the prosecution that Serrano is the same person as Rogelio Villanueva,” the court said adding that even testimonies of witnesses failed to show the link between Serrano and Villanueva.

” It is an outright mockery of the basic human rights on due process of law which is enshrined in our Constitution,” the resolution said.

The court also reminded the law enforcers and other government authorities to ensure that their enthusiasm will not deprive any person’s right to liberty.

“The good performance of the government is compromised sans any fault on its part by the impunity committed by its workforce. Every precaution should be taken against its repetition. Otherwise the parties responsible for this state of affairs would justly lay themselves open to the accusation that the greatest danger to constitutional right comes from public officials, mEn of zeal, concededly well-meaning but without sufficient understanding of the implication of the rule of law,” the court said.

The court ordered the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to immediately release Serrano.

Last month, the Mauban, Quezon RTC Branch 64 dismissed the murder cases against Andrea Rosal for lack of evidence.

Rosal, who was seven months pregnant in 2014 was arrested by authorities. She lost her child in detention.