Raps vs scribe slay suspect dismissed

STA. CRUZ, Laguna — A local judge dismissed yesterday the murder charges against a suspect in the 2003 killing of Laguna broadcaster and community paper columnist Noel Villarante.

Judge Mary Ann Corpus Mañalac made the move after Villarante’s wife, Jocelyn Ovilla, said in open court that the suspect, Sesenando Palumbarit, a former police informer, was not her husband’s killer.

Ovilla, accompanied by her children and sisters-in-law, appeared in court to prove, as stated in her affidavit of desistance, that she was no longer interested in pursuing the case against Palumbarit.

When grilled by Mañalac, Ovilla said she could not physically identify her husband’s gunman, adding that she only pinpointed Palumbarit allegedly upon the coaching of the police investigators.

Palumbarit was initially invited for questioning, but he was later arrested after Ovilla tagged him as the one who allegedly shot Villarante in front of their house on Aug. 19, 2003.

The court dismissed the case when Ovilla failed to appear during the trial. But the police appealed the move, thus the case was reopened and an arrest warrant issued for Palumbarit, who gave himself up last week.