Judge reprimands cops, prosecutors: Court acquits brods of rape

A man and his brother, who were accused of raping and killing his 13-year-old daughter in the town of Carcar on September last year, were acquitted yesterday by Regional Trial Court Judge Raphael Yrastorza Sr.

The court also reprimanded the Carcar police and the prosecution for hastily filing the case without verifying information against brothers Concordio and Maximo Laputan. Maximo is the father of the victim.

The case for rape with homicide stemmed because of the testimony of Ronnie Tabora, a neighbor of the brothers, who alleged that the two men conspired in raping and killing the 13-year-old victim on September 6, 2005 in sitio Kamangkamang, Ocana, Carcar, Cebu.

Tabora, who is also facing a similar case in another sala, also testified that both Laputans stabbed the victim several times using a knife that eventually caused her death.

But the court noted some inconsistencies in the testimony of Tabura. Records showed that on September 12, 2005, Tabora executed an affidavit before the Carcar police that the brothers pointed a knife at him. He also executed an affidavit before the Commission on Human Rights admitting that he raped the victim.

The prosecution also presented the testimonies of Police Sr. Insp. Edmar Dela Torre of the PNP Crime Laboratory in Camp Crame, Florencia Arreisgado, Alexander Laputan, Estrella Camilli and Diomedes Laputan.

The court also noted that all prosecution witnesses namely Arriesgado, Alexander Laputan, Camilli, and Diomedes Laputan favored the accused by saying that Concordio Laputan could not have been around when the rape was committed.

"The physical evidence gathered or allegedly gathered from the scene of the offense and submitted by P/Sr. Insp. Dela Torre for laboratory examination only proved DNA of the victim, but failed to prove that both accused were on the scene of the crime by virtue of the items/things recovered," the verdict read.

"A word of caution to the prosecution; the filing of this case on the part of the prosecution should not have been done with undue haste but should have been done with studied circumspection on the rights of both accused.

"This is a very good example of the adage ' haste makes waste', to the utter prejudice of both accused vis-a-vis their present preoccupations. The investigating prosecutor should have, scrutinized carefully the evidence as submitted by the police officers of Carcar. The prosecutor could have saved both accused from the inconvenience of imprisonment and its corresponding effects loss of income, separation from their respective families," the court added.

The brothers cried after the verdict was read and told reporters, "hilak ni sa kalipay sir ug nagpasalamat ko nga nahatagan gyud mi ug hustisya."

"Kun naminaw pa lang ang Carcar police namo dili na unta mi moabot pa ani nga daghang na kaayo ang nasakrispo. Namatyan pa ko sa akong asawa ug nawad-an pa ko ug pag-umangkon" Concordio Laputan said.

Police Supt. Teofilo Siclot together with Lolita Tabora, mother of the Ronnie, were also present during the promulgation yesterday morning but they hurriedly left after the verdict acquitting the Laputan brothers was read.

"Dili man siguro nag-dali-dali aning kasoha, infact tanan evidences maoy gibasihan sa korte ug ang pag-file sa kasu among gibasihan tungod sa affidavit ni Tabora," Siclot said.

"Nag artista lang na sila ug kombinsido gyud ko nga sila ang naghimo ug dili akong anak," said Lolita Tabora.

The court also ordered the prosecution division to facilitate the payment of P10,000 for each accused, which is allowed under the Department of Justice circular giving compensation to victims of malicious prosecution.