Charges vs 2 ‘FM bust bombers’ dismissed

BAGUIO CITY — The Abra prosecutor’s office dismissed yesterday frustrated murder charges against two suspected New People’s Army (NPA) amazons accused of participating in the ambush of a military convoy in Lagangilang, Abra last March 16.

Human rights lawyer Joselito Benedito said in a phone interview that the prosecutor’s office found no evidence to prove the existence of probable cause in the charges leveled against Josephine Perez and Evelyn Bedaña, whom the military earlier also linked to last December’s bombing of the giant bust of the late former President Ferdinand Marcos in Benguet.

Early this month, Benedito asked Judge Charito Gonzales of the Regional Trial Court Branch 1 for a reinvestigation of the frustrated murder raps against Perez and Bedaña, arguing that the charges had no connection with the evidence reportedly seized from them.

Perez and Bedana were arrested in Barangay Bakakeng Central in this city last June 23.

The military allegedly found in their possession two caliber .22 and one caliber .38 revolvers, two pounds of C4 explosives, 12 non-electric blasting caps, one blasting device, one tester, two timing devices, two meters of M-700 time fuse, five meters of detonating cord, and voluminous subversive documents.

"Dapat illegal possession of firearms ang kinaso (Charges of illegal possession of firearms should have been filed against them instead)," Benedito argued in a previous interview with The STAR.

Meanwhile, human rights groups and non-government organizations here were quick to hail the dismissal as a major victory for human rights.

Ditneg, a Baguio-based volunteer paralegal and human rights group, said the case should serve as a warning to authorities to always observe due process.

Beverly Longid, Ditneg’s head, said they are happy with the decision and reiterated that Bedaña is a staffmember of STOP-Exploitation, a La Union-based tobacco farmers advocacy group, and not an NPA rebel as the military claimed.

Perez, on the other hand, is the regional coordinator of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines-Ilocos region chapter, Longid added.