Gerarda Villa, mother of Lenny Villa who died in February 1991 due to severe beatings he got during initiation rites of the Ateneo Law School’s Aquila Legis fraternity, expressed disappointment over a Court of Appeals (CA) ruling handed down Friday exonerating 19 of 26 accused in the case.
"I am so disappointed. It hurts to see that after all these years, justice remains elusive for my son," Villa said yesterday in a telephone interview.
The Crusade Against Violence (CAV) was also di"We died a second time."
The appeals court modified a lower court decision on the case which found all 26 accused guilty of homicide.
In its ruling penned by Justice Eubolo Verzola, the CA found only two of the 26 accused guilty of homicide, four were convicted for the lesser offense of slight physical injuries, while one died in April 1996.
Caloocan City Trial Judge Adoracion Angeles originally ruled in November 1993 that all 26 respondents conspired with one another in the initiation rites that led to Villa’s death, and sentenced them to 14 years imprisonment, in addition to moral and exemplary damages amounting to more than P1 million.
Originally, there were 35 respondents, but the list was trimmed down to 26.
In his decision, Verzola indicated there could be no conspiracy to commit a crime when the supposed victims were privy to the incident.
"Indeed, there can be no fraternity initiation without consenting neophytes," Verzola noted.
Justices Rodrigo Cosico and Eliezer de los Santos concurred with Verzola’s ruling.
Villa argued, however, that her son "would never give consent to any threat to his life."
"Lenny was at the prime of his life when he was killed. There was no reason for him to look for his own death. If that would be the thinking of the court, then all neophytes will be killed during hazing rites and they can’t expect to get justice," she lamented.
"With this development, (fraternity) masters can beat up neophytes to death and they would not get punished for that. But we’ll exhaust all legal means to make those involved in my son’s death pay for their crime," she said.
She claimed her son’s case was being manipulated by the respondents who had relatives in the judiciary and other Aquila Legis members who are holding high positions in government.
"We are going against a thick concrete wall that is the Aquila Legis fraternity. They would not allow the image of this group tainted so the wheel of justice is grinding slowly and erroneously for us," she said.
"We died when our loved ones died a senseless death. Now, we died a second time when the CA did not take into consideration the evidence presented by the prosecution," said CAV president Carina Agarao.
She scored the CA justices for saying they could not be swayed by public outcry for revenge because the court administers justice, not vengeance.
"We never asked for vengeance. We discourage people to take the law into their hands, although legal (battle) is expensive and a very long process," Agarao said.
Lenny’s death stirred public consciousness against violent hazing and prompted Congress to pass a law declaring hazing as a capital offense.
Convicted for homicide were Fedelito Dizon and Artemio Villareal who were sentenced to a maximum prison term of 17 years, plus damages.
Acquitted were Amante Purisima II, nephew of retired Supreme Court Justice Fidel Purisima; Etienne Guerrero, son of Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Jesus Guerrero; Nelson Victorino, Eulogio Sabban, Joseph Lledo, Michael Musngi, Percival Brigola, Jonas Karl Perez, Ronan de Guzman, Paul Angelo Santos, Antonio General, Jaime Ma. Flores III, Dalmacio Lim Jr., Ernesto Jose Montecillo, Santiago Ranada III, Zosimo Mendoza, Vicente Verdadero, Jude Fernandez and Adel Abas.
Those held liable for slight physical injuries for inflicting on Villa "more than the usual punishment undertaken during initiation rites" were Vincent Tecson, Junel Anthony Ama, Antonio Mariano Almeda and Renato Bantug Jr. They were meted 20 days imprisonment and ordered to pay for damages totaling P30,000.
In convicting Dizon and Villareal, the CA ruled that were "motivated by ill-will" in reopening the initiation rites even if these were already concluded.
"The two (Dizon and Villareal) had their own axes to grind against Villa and (Bienvenido) Marquez III. It was very clear that they acted with criminal intent," the 24-page ruling stated.
The court noted that Dizon was angry at the 21-year-old Villa because of a row over a parking space between their respective fathers.
Villa was the son of the late Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Romulo Villa.
On the other hand, Villareal was reportedly mad at Marquez because he suspected that the latter’s family had a hand in the death of his brother.
"The evidence on this matter is unrebutted and so for the death of Villa, Dizon and Villareal must and should face the consequences of their acts, that is, to be held liable for the crime of homicide," the CA ruled. — With Cecille Suerte Felipe