RTC Judge Ruben Ayson shared the prosecutor’s view that Cadets Third Class John Louie Ong and Michael Perang are only students and not yet soldiers and thus, cannot be left in the custody of the commanding officer as in the case of military men who commit crimes while in the performance of their duties.
Ayson said the two cadets are charged with an offense that is punishable under the Revised Penal Code, and that the RTC is not a military tribunal.
The arraignment of Ong and Perang has been reset to May 23 after their counsels informed the court about their plan to appeal the resolution of the city prosecutor’s office indicting the two cadets for murder.
Nap Ferrer, Ayson’s legal researcher, said the cadets’ lawyers hope to have the charge reduced to either plain homicide or homicide through reckless imprudence by way of a reinvestigation.
Should their appeal be rejected, the lawyers said they would ask the Department of Justice for a review of the case.