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MANILA, Philippines – The wives of two men convicted for killing police colonel Rolando Abadilla in 1996 appealed to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to hunt down the policemen who allegedly tortured their husbands.
Melanie de Guzman and Marilou Lumanog, wives of two of the so-called “Abadilla 5,” sent a letter to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to ask for the arrest of at least 10 of the 15 policemen who tortured their husbands in order for them to admit to the killing.
De Guzman is the common-law wife of Rameses de Jesus, while Lumanog is wife of Leonardo Lumanog. The other 3 members of the “Abadilla 5” are Senior Police Officer 2 Cesar Fortuna, Joel de Jesus and Augusto Santos.
The appeal came after a Quezon City regional trial court ordered in June the arrest of the policemen who tortured the Abadilla 5. Three of the 15 policemen already appeared before the court and posted bail – Superintendent Dario Anasco, Senior Police Officer 2 Pio Tarala, and SPO1 Edilberto Nicanor – while 2 have already died.
Meanwhile, 10 others remain at-large:
- Chief Inspector Robert Ganzon
- Chief Inspector Romeo Rejis
- Senior Inspector Anthony Rodolfo
- Inspector Rogelio Castillo
- Inspector S. Ceddamon
- SPO4 P. Ramira
- SPO3 Juanito Cabiling
- SPO2 C. Nocum
- SPO1 P. Pobre
- PO3 Wilfredo Hidalgo
The case against the 15 policemen was filed in 1996. “We cannot wait for another 19 years of delay in our fight for justice,” the two wives said in the letter.
The Abadilla 5 were convicted for assassinating Abadilla, a military intelligence officer during the Marcos dictatorship, on June 13, 1996. The Supreme Court affirmed the decision with finality in February 2011.
They were originally given a death penalty, which the Court of Appeals lowered to life imprisonment in April 2008.
The Ombudsman issued in January 2011 a resolution for the filing of torture and human rights cases against the 15 policemen, but the camp of the Abadilla 5 failed to submit the report to the High Court before the affirmation of conviction. – Rappler.com
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