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By James Konstantin Galvez, Reporter
Judge Oscar Pimentel of Makati Regional Trial
Court Branch 148 dismissed the coup d’etat charges against
an aide of Senator Gregorio Honasan implicated in the Magdaló
takeover of Oakwood Hotel, saying there was insufficient evidence to
prove he conspired with the Magdalós.
In a five-page decision, Pimentel ordered the
dismissal of the case against Ernesto Macahiya, spokesman and
vice-president of the military-based fraternity, Philippine
Guardians Brotherhood Inc., that Honasan served as chairman.
“The prosecution failed to prove beyond
reasonable doubt the existence of the alleged conspiracy. None of
the witnesses [Leborio Jangao, Paul Gabonales and Col.Virgilio
Briones] testified to prove the conspiracy,” Pimentel said.
Pimentel sided with Macahiya’s demurrer of
evidence, a motion seeking a dismissal of the case filed on October
2, 2007, saying that the Department of Justice (DOJ) failed to
present and substantiate its case.
“Wherefore, and finding the demurrer to
evidence filed by accused Ernesto Macahiya to be impressed with
merit, the same is hereby granted. As prayed for, the case against
the accused is hereby dismissed and the bond posted for his
provisional liberty is hereby ordered cancelled,” said Pimentel.
Macahiya posted a P200,000 bond for his
temporary liberty on August 28, 2006.
The court accepted the accused’s argument that
as a civilian, he could not be charged with coup d’etat, a crime
that punishes persons working with government, particularly
the military and the police.
Earlier, authorities erroneously identified
Macahiya as a retired Army colonel, a charge he denied, saying he
was a former executive of the Development Bank of the Philippines.
The Justice department based their case on the
strength of the testimonies of two witnesses, Jangao and Gabonales
claiming to have seen the accused leading a rally and holding a
streamer which reads, “Honasan para sa Karapatang Pantao, Isulong
ang National Recovery Program. Philippine Guardians Brotherhood,
Incorporated. Stop Graft and Corruption”, on the day that the
Magdaló soldiers seized the Oakwood hotel.
Macahiya’s co-accused, retired colonel Briones,
whom the DOJ tried to present as one of their witnesses, never got
to testify to implicate the former.
Authorities have alleged that the protest action
was part of the overall plan to overthrow the government and that
Macahiya belongs to the civilian component of the Magdaló group,
which the latter denied.
The court likewise said that leading and joining
a rally is not prohibited by law, but is a constitutional right.
“As regard the act of carrying a streamer with
the said inscriptions, this is within the ambit of one’s
Constitutional right to freedom of speech,” Pimentel said in his
order.
He also said that the PGBI is not an illegal
organization, but is a duly registered domestic corporation.
Macahiya had earlier argued that his case should
have been dismissed when DOJ dropped a similar case filed against
Honasan for lack of evidence.
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