US group dismayed as officials linked to journalist's murder return to work

A New York-based media watchdog expressed dismay during the weekend after two agriculture officials linked to a journalist’s murder returned to work. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Osmeña Montañer and Estrella Sabay, alleged masterminds in the killing of Marlene Esperat, have returned to the Department of Agriculture (DA). A Philippine Daily Inquirer report confirmed that Montañer, DA regional finance officer, and Estrella Sabay, DA regional chief accountant, have resumed their work since last December. This was after the Court of Appeals in Cagayan De Oro City issued a preliminary injunction on the arrest warrants against the two issued by the Tacurong City court. "The injunction against Montañer's and Sabay's arrests and their return to high-level official positions in the government represent a clear setback to achieving swift justice in the landmark media killing case," CPJ Southeast Asia representative Shawn Crispin said in the CPJ blog site (http://cpj.org/blog/2010/02/suspects-in-garcia-esperat-murder-back-at-work-in.php). CPJ added observers and advocates believe the drawn-out legal maneuvering has been purposefully designed by the defendants' legal team to break the will of witnesses and finances of the plaintiffs. However, it said there is no indication so far that the prosecution plans to relent in their pursuit of justice. "But until the masterminds of the Esperat murder are successfully brought to justice, the message sent to other suspects in media killings — including the perpetrators of the Maguindanao massacre — is that justice can be delayed and that persistent legal maneuvering represents a potential way out," it said. The prosecution, acting on behalf of Esperat's surviving two daughters, submitted its response to the injunction and the court now awaits comment from the Office of the Solicitor General on the “propriety" of the arrest warrants. CPJ noted the Philippine government had earlier formed and deployed a dedicated “tracker team" to locate and arrest Montañer and Sabay, but failed to find them. The two were in hiding prior to the issuance of the preliminary injunction. Both have maintained their innocence, with Montaner claiming he and Sabay were “fall guys" in the case. "But with such clear-cut evidence gathered against them, many still hope that their convictions will set an important legal precedent towards breaking the cycle of impunity that has allowed so many media killings to go unpunished across the Philippines. Setting such a precedent against politically powerful suspects is especially crucial in the tragic wake of the November 23 Maguindanao massacre, in which 32 journalists and media workers were killed and the top suspect is an influential local mayor, Andal Ampatuan Jr.," CPJ said. Montañer and Sabay were implicated as the Esperat murder's masterminds in a testimony given by ex-military intelligence official Rowie Barua in May 2006. Barua claimed during his testimony that Montañer and Sabay had hired him to plan and orchestrate Esperat's killing to silence her critical news reporting on alleged corruption in the DA. The two suspects have since argued through their lawyers that because they were acquitted as suspects in the earlier trial against the gunmen, the new proceedings represent a violation of Philippine laws against being tried for the same crime twice. Also, their legal team challenged the legitimacy of appointed courts and judges, a strategy that resulted in the temporary stay order against their earlier issued arrest warrants. - Jerrie M. Abela, RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV