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By Jomar Canlas Reporter
ACTING Justice Secretary Agnes
Devanadera finally resolved the controversial Tamano murder case,
which then Justice Secretary Raul M. Gonzalez ordered be set aside
and given special attention since it involved a Lanao mayor.
The case ensued from an
alleged “love triangle” that involved the mayor’s wife and an
Army soldier, which led to the soldier’s death.
In a four-page resolution dated
October 8, 2007, Devanadera found probable cause for charges of
double murder against Mayor Aminola Calauto Mangurun of Kapai, Lanao
del Sur, along with his men, Lininding Ampal and Col. Pilipinas
Dagalangit.
Devanadera issued the order after
junking with finality the motion for reconsideration filed by the
respondents before her office.
Mangurun and the other accused
were indicted before the Cagayan de Oro RTC for allegedly conspiring
to kill Army Lt. Paulman Sadat Hofer Tamano and his aide, Sgt.
Nabral Bara, in December 2005 in a fit of jealousy.
Devanadera also directed Cagayan
de Oro City Prosecutor Fidel Macauyag “to proceed with the trial
of the criminal cases against the respondents and to report the
action taken within 10 days from receipt of the order.
“The validity and merits of a
party’s defense or accusation, as well as the admissibility of
testimonies of evidence, are better ventilated during the trial
stage than in a preliminary investigation,” noted Devanadera.
In June Gonzalez ordered Macauyag
to proceed with the indictment of Mangurun and his two alleged
cohorts.
The Department of Justice found
merit in the appeal made by Tamano’s father, Salipada Tamano, to
reverse the May 24 ruling dropping the charges against Mangurun.
In March 2007 Senior State
Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva filed double-murder charges before
the Cagayan de Oro Regional Trial Court against Mangurun and the
other respondents.
Witnesses said Mangurun ordered
the hit on Tamano for his alleged romantic involvement with Mangurun’s
wife, Racma. In the records of the case, Tamano’s car was peppered
with bullets while on his way to have lunch with his parents at a
mall. Several witnesses said they saw Mangurun at the crime scene
making sure that Tamano was dead.
Devanadera affirmed the findings
of Gonzalez by saying that the testimony of “witnesses Ruel Villa
and Basher Salisip are sufficient to warrant a finding of probable
cause against the respondents.” 
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