(CMFR/IFEX) – The prosecutor handling the case of slain editor-publisher Philip Agustin recently was relieved by the Department of Justice (DOJ). In a resolution dated 17 March 2006, the DOJ ordered the formation of a new investigating panel composed of three other state prosecutors to replace Senior State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco, who was charged with […]
(CMFR/IFEX) – The prosecutor handling the case of slain editor-publisher Philip Agustin recently was relieved by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
In a resolution dated 17 March 2006, the DOJ ordered the formation of a new investigating panel composed of three other state prosecutors to replace Senior State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco, who was charged with “serious allegations of partiality and bias” in handling the case of the slain journalist.
On 26 January, Velasco moved to exclude the alleged mastermind, Jaime Ylarde, town mayor of Dingalan, Aurora province, as a suspect in the 10 May 2005 slaying of Augustin.
In his resolution, Velasco cited lack of circumstantial and direct evidence linking Ylarde to the journalist’s murder. He also noted “minor” inconsistencies between the statements of the suspect-turned-witness, Reynaldo Morete.
In their motion for a reconsideration of Velasco as prosecutor for the case, filed at the DOJ’s national office in Manila, the National Bureau of Investigation and Agustin’s relatives pointed out Morete’s close relationship with Ylarde as a strong cause for suspecting the mayor’s involvement in the case.
“It is a cardinal rule that minor inconsistencies are badges of truthfulness and candor, for they erase any suspicion that the testimony was rehearsed,” the motion added.
The motion also noted the fact that Agustin had published an article about the mayor’s fraudulent handling of the town’s calamity funds as a strong motive behind the probable connection between Ylarde and Augustin’s murder.
Agustin wrote a series of articles, published in his newspaper “Starline Times Recorder” between 2 and 8 May 2005, implicating Ylarde in the alleged misuse of funds intended for victims of a flood tragedy in Aurora province, 130 kilometers northeast of Manila.
According to town councilor Valentino Lapuz, Ylarde “wields considerable power and influence” because of the positions he has held in Dingalan.
Mayor Ylarde previously served as Dingalan’s chief of police and was vice-mayor for two terms, before becoming mayor in 2004.
“This case is not an ordinary murder case. It aims to stem the tide of media murders motivated by the victim’s advocacy against corruption in government,” said Nenita Mendoza and Rosabelle Cruz, sister and daughter of the slain editor.
Agustin was the third (out of seven) journalists killed in the line of duty in 2005.
