Father seeks custody of teen witness vs Pangasinan gov

MANILA, Philippines - The father of a 16-year-old who tagged Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino Jr. in the killing of Infanta town Mayor Ruperto Martinez in December last year sought custody of his child in a petition for amparo filed with the Supreme Court (SC) yesterday.

Jaime Aquino, who was also implicated by his son in the murder case, asked the SC to order the Department of Justice (DOJ) to turn over   the boy to him.

Aquino, who was accompanied by his wife, Ester,  told reporters that their son was lying when he tagged Espino and Pangasinan first district Rep. Jesus Celeste as the masterminds in the killing of Martinez.

Aquino, a writer of a weekly newspaper in their province, said the testimony of his son was not credible.

In a 13-page petition, Aquino said his son was “abused” by authorities and the Akap-Bata Foundation, a non-government organization (NGO) that took the boy into custody when he left their home on Nov. 1, 2012.

He said the boy ”had been restricted of liberty by the NBI and the NGO… It is serious illegal detention considering that the minor was held against his will with a promise of reward should he agree to sign the perjured affidavit.”

Aquino said parents  cannot bear even a minute more of pain of not seeing their minor son and keeping him in their custody to give the love and care that only the father and the mother can give.

Aquino added he and his family are on the run because of his son’s accusations.

He also sought a temporary restraining order to stop the DOJ from proceeding with its preliminary investigation based on his son’s testimony.

The NBI filed murder charges against Espino, Celeste and Aquino based on the minor’s “personal knowledge” of the killing.

The witness, who has been placed under the witness protection program, claimed he was present during a meeting at a beach resort in Bolinao town in November 2011 when Espino allegedly planned the killing of Martinez.

In his affidavit, he said he heard the governor saying Martinez should be killed in order to prevent him from implicating Espino in an illegal mining project in the province.