Slain fratman’s kin appeal to DOJ

The family of slain University of the Philippines (UP) Alpha Phi Beta member Den Daniel Reyes asked Justice Secretary Hernando Perez yesterday to reconsider the dismissal of charges against three members of the rival Sigma Rho fraternity.

"All we ask is a fair trial," said his mother, Cecilia Reyes. "We’ve been waiting for justice for two years now." But Sigma Rhoans said the DOJ’s ruling was based on testimony of disinterested witnesses and physical and documentary evidence.

Justice Undersecretary Merceditas Gutierez junked last Oct. 23 homicide charges against Fulgencio "Bibit" Factoran III, son of former natural resources secretary Fulgencio Factoran Jr., and his fratmates Gil Taway and Marcial Rongo. She ruled that the prosecution failed to present "credible evidence" only a day before the three suspects’ arraignment in the Quezon City regional trial court for the killing on Feb. 10, 2000.

"The Sigma Rhoans even got an advance copy of the resolution," said the victim’s elder brother Jan Michael, 24. "We were not furnished one. Is this because we have no political connections?"

He said his family wrote President Arroyo about his brother’s case and gotten no reply. Reyes, a civil engineering student, was attacked with knives and clubs allegedly by five Sigma Rho men. Keven Camagay and Vincent Jimenez claimed they saw the Sigma Rhoans ganging up on the victim and said Reyes told them who his attackers were before he died.

The Quezon City Prosecutor found the three suspects liable for homicide and filed charges in court. The suspects posted bail and appealed to the DOJ for a reinvestigation. "For a case as sensitive as this, it is highly unusual that only an undersecretary should sign the resolution," said Arnold Guerrero, counsel of the Reyes family. He wondered why the undersecretary used the "lack of credibility" of prosecution witnesses to dismiss the case. "The credibility of witnesses is a matter that is tested at trial," he said.

But Sigma Rho spokesman Al Parreno said the testimonies of the prosecution witness were self-serving. – Romel Bagares