Justice for Philip

The fate of 24-year-old Navy ensign and Cebuano Philip Pestaño calls to mind the movie “A Few Good Men” in which a Marine named William Santiago was murdered due to a “code red” ordered by the commanding officer, Col. Nathan Jessup.

In a memorable performance by Jack Nicholson, Jessup came under fire from hotshot Navy lawyer Daniel Kaffee—a young Tom Cruise—for claiming that he approved Santiago’s transfer and specifically ordered his men not to touch the Marine, yet still failed to ensure his safety.

As it turned out, Jessup ordered a “code red,” a term for extrajudicial punishment. Under tough questioning by Kaffee, he blurted out that indeed he ordered Santiago punished. The admission resulted in his arrest and the dishonorable discharge of two Marines who took part in the punishment.

Pestaño’s circumstances may have echoed Santiago’s fate—he was found dead with bullet holes in his head inside his cabin in a vessel that docked at the Navy headquarters in Manila.

About 10 officers were charged for Pestaño’s death but the Ombudsman then headed by Merceditas Guttierrez dismissed the complaint filed by Pestaño’s parents due to what she said was “circumstantial evidence.”

As pointed out by the Inquirer, Gutierrez’s inaction on the Pestaño case was one of several used as basis for her impeachment last year. With the new Ombudsman charging the 10 officers for Pestaño’s murder, the victim’s family has reason to hope that justice will finally be served 16 years after his death.

True, there wasn’t a Kaffee or a Jane Galloway to take the cudgels for the Pestaños. The family is going up against powerful people in the Navy or other government quarters who may have had a hand in his murder.

Like the film’s victim, Santiago, Pestaño witnessed an anomaly that he strongly objected to, namely the delivery of illegal cargoes to his assigned vessel.

But unlike Santiago, who sought his transfer from his Marine base in exchange for testifying that one of his fellow Marines had shot at the Cuban side of the Guantanamo base island in violation of standing orders not to do so, Pestaño never had to squirm his way out of any compromising situation. He was an honorable young man.

In fact, said his parents, Pestaño had no reason to kill himself despite the alleged suicide note found in his cabin. He was an idealistic young man who was set to marry his girlfriend and had a bright future ahead of him.

That future was wiped out by his assailants. With the Ombudsman ruling, we can only hope that justice will be finally served.