MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has been asked to act on the murder case against the mayor of Buguey town in Cagayan, which has been pending in the Court of Appeals (CA) for 10 years after the inhibition of 16 justices.
In a letter to Chief Justice Renato Corona sent last April 15, the family of murder victim Edwin Cusit appealed to the SC to compel the CA to resolve the case against Mayor Licerio Antiporda III with dispatch.
Cusit’s brother Alfredo Jr. said he and his relatives have left their hometown and are now in hiding due to constant fear for their lives.
He likened Antiporda’s family to that of the Ampatuans in Maguindanao.
He said Antiporda’s father, Licerio Jr., was recently released from jail for the murder of his mayoral opponent, lawyer Franklin Tamargo.
“It has been 16 years since my brother and two others were murdered. It took the RTC (regional trial court) judge six years to make a decision. For the last 10 years, the case has been moving around the salas of 17 justices of the Court of Appeals,” he said.
Antiporda is on bail and is the elected mayor of Buguey town. He was recently accused of murder before the Department of Justice, Alfredo Cusit Jr. said.
On Sept. 14, 2010, Cusit said private prosecutor Manuel Molina wrote Corona a letter appealing for his help in having the murder case finally resolved by the CA.
“This was promptly referred to the (CA) but until now no positive step has been taken, except its having been raffled anew from Justice Tolentino to Justice Sorongon,” Cusit said.
Cusit said his brother was murdered on May 8, 1995 in front of a polling precinct in Barangay San Isidro, Buguey town allegedly by Antiporda, whose father, then the mayor, was running for re-election.
Manila RTC Judge Teresa Soriano convicted Antiporda of murder and triple homicide on May 4, 2001.
Antiporda appealed the decision with the CA. Justice Bienvenido Reyes affirmed the lower court’s decision on Jan. 23, 2002, but five days later, he recalled it, saying he was not the ponente of the case, and asked that the case be re-raffled.
The case was raffled off to retired Justice Edgardo Sundiam where it languished for six years. Sundiam later inhibited himself from further handling the case.
The case was re-raffled to Justice Japar Dimaampao who declined, then to former CA justice and now SC Justice Martin Villarama who also refused.
It later went to Justice Teresita Flores who retired without deciding the case, and then to Justice Jose Mendoza who also declined to handle it.
The case continued to be re-raffled and passed through Justices Pampio Abarintos, Celia Librea-Leagogo, Mario Guarina III, Jane Aurora Lantion, Jose Sabio Jr., Francisco Acosta, and back to Reyes who declined, too.
It landed in the sala of Justice Samuel Gaerlan, who after a few months also inhibited himself.
The case was raffled off to Justice Amelita Tolentino who also inhibited herself. It is now pending with Justice Edwin Sorongon, Cusit said.