We condemn the issuance of arrest warrants by the Palayan, Nueva Ecija court for former Makabayan representatives Teddy Casino, Satur Ocampo and former DAR secretary Rafael Mariano and current NAPC Convenor Sec.Liza Maza.
There is no justifiable reason for the order of Judge Evelyn A. Atienza-Turla dated July 11, 2018.
The arrest warrants against the four comes ten years after Turla found no probable cause to uphold ridiculous charges of murder. The latest order comes without any explanation for the reversal despite being based on the same evidence, facts and circumstances.
There was no murder case to begin with as far as one supposed target, Jimmy Peralta, died in a vehicular accident, as attested by police spot reports.
That the four lawmakers ordered the killings of Peralta and one Carlito Bayudang to ensure Bayan Muna victory is an outright lie, a concoction by military handlers of false witnesses.
Prosecutors failed to subscribe the affidavits of complainants and their witnesses. They failed to validate or confirm preposterous claims that parroted each other..
Judge Atienza-Turla should have dismissed the obvious fabricated murder charges adecade back.
That it comes amid rising tyranny of the Duterte administration only casts suspicion on the use of the judiciary for political persecution.
The reincarnation of the old Inter-agency Legal Action Group (IALAG) under then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the Inter-Agency Committee on Legal Action (IACLA) is part of the Duterte regime’s assault on pro-democracy forces, which includes efforts to proscribe as terrorists more than 600 individuals, including legal personalities like Ocampo.
We urge Judge Atienza-Turla to reverse a clearly unjust order. Various courts and agencies have already thrown out similar or related cases. Bayan Muna has even been awarded damages on the perjured statements of witnesses.
We demand an end to the persecution of Satur, Liza, Teddy, Paeng and all victims of trumped-up charges.###
