DOJ mulls pardon for 'Abadilla 5'

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering recommending for presidential clemency five men convicted for the 1996 killing of police colonel Rolando Abadilla, chief of the defunct Metropolitan Command Intelligence and Security Group.

In an ambush interview, Secretary Leila de Lima said she is “seriously considering” a request made by families of the “Abadilla 5” – Senior Police Officer 2 Cesar Fortuna, Rameses de Jesus Calma, Leonardo Lumanog, Joel de Jesus and Augusto Santos.

“I think there is no other remedy because the Supreme Court had denied their motion for reconsideration, so they are hoping for a pardon. I know this case because when I was with the Commission on Human Rights, I monitored this case,” she said.

De Lima said the convicts are left with no other recourse but to apply for pardon from President Aquino. “Legally, there is nothing we can do. But for humanitarian reasons, maybe we can help them by recommending for their pardon,” she said.

De Lima believes there is basis in the families’ claims that the five men were “fall guys” who were just tortured into confessing to the crime. She said this could be considered by the DOJ in recommending the pardon through the Board of Pardon and Parole.

“This is not a conclusion, this is just an opinion that the case needs to be looked into,” she added.

Last week, the families of the Abadilla 5 sent De Lima a hand-written letter seeking presidential pardon through priest Robert Reyes. The five men have been in jail for 15 years at a maximum prison facility in Muntinlupa for the assassination of Abadilla, a military intelligence officer during the Marcos regime, on June 13, 1996. The Supreme Court affirmed their conviction with finality in February.