Luisita slay: Victim’s wife fears whitewash

The wife of slain Hacienda Luisita labor union leader Ricardo Ramos fears a military cover-up after two soldiers were called in by the police for questioning.

Lily Ramos said she is convinced that the military is involved and will try to hide evidence linking Privates First Class Rhoderick de la Cruz and Romeo Castillo to her husband’s murder, which left-wing activists allege is part of a military-backed campaign against the left.

"They will surely hide the firearm. They will do anything to escape prosecution despite our conviction that the two military men were involved," she told The STAR.

De la Cruz and Castillo were invited by the police yesterday to shed light on the case, though investigators emphasize the two are not yet considered suspects as no one has accused them of direct involvement.

Senior Superintendent Perfecto Palad, who is leading the investigation, wants the two soldiers to respond to claims that they were in the neighborhood looking for Ramos days before he was gunned down late Tuesday.

Palad also wants to know if any of them were issued M-14 rifles, the type used in the killing. "If they were issued M-14 rifles, we will conduct ballistic tests on them to establish whether they have been fired recently"

De la Cruz and Castillo reportedly visited the Ramos home late in the afternoon and early that evening on the day her husband was shot by a sniper during a drinking binge with some friends.

"I know them since they had dropped by our house in the past looking for members of the New People’s Army. But our place had always been peaceful until the arrival of the military in our barangay," Ramos said.

She added the two also reportedly bought a neighbor’s dog two days before the killing, bolstering her suspicions. Apparently they bought the animal to get it out of the way because it barked at the sight of strangers.

Palad stressed that the evidence against the two soldiers remains circumstantial. "There was evidently one gunman who fired two shots, although witnesses claimed they saw five persons from where the shots rang out. But none of the witnesses recognized any of them"

Lily Ramos believes that even if Castillo and De la Cruz are eventually arrested and convicted, the mastermind would never be brought to justice.

Leftists allege that her husband is the latest target in a series of high-profile killings of left-wing activists orchestrated by Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, commander of the Philippine Army’s 7th Infantry Division, which is stationed in Central Luzon.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon assured that De la Cruz and Castillo would be presented for questioning.

"We are giving them (police) a free hand in their investigation as we adhere to the rules of evidence and the rule of law," Esperon said. "We have nothing against them investigating our men. We will present the two if they are summoned for questioning."

Palad, who heads a task force investigating the murder, earlier said they might be able to file charges next week.

Esperon, however, appealed to the public not to make sweeping accusations.

"Pointing an accusing finger this early without the evidence to back it up is unfair, not only to the two soldiers, but also to the entire Army organization," he said.

He pointed out that local residents would naturally be familiar with Castillo and De la Cruz because their unit is assigned at the barangay where Ramos was also chairman.

Several Army outposts were established inside Hacienda Luisita, a sprawling sugar plantation owned by the family of former President Corazon Aquino, after a clash broke out in November between the police and striking sugar mill workers.

Castillo and De la Cruz were among the 18-man Army contingent ordered pulled out from Hacienda Luisita by the Army, as requested by the police.

Left-wing activists believe that Palparan, who has been accused in the past of killings and atrocities, is involved in the Ramos murder.

He was reassigned twice after human rights advocates, local officials and lawmakers accused him of grave human rights atrocities. He was assigned to Central Luzon in September. He was bypassed for promotion earlier this year after opposition from the leftist legislators.

President Arroyo has ordered a speedy investigation into the spate of killings that includes the murders of three other leftist activists last week. — With Ric Sapnu, Jaime Laude