Ombudsman may withdraw case vs Navy officers in Pestaño's death

Prosecutors from the Office of the Ombudsman are “amenable” to withdrawing the case against the Navy officers implicated in the death of Ensign Philip Andrew Pestaño, whose body was found inside a Navy vessel in 1995. This is if ever it is proven that none of the 10 Navy officers was holding the rank of naval captain at the time of Pestaño’s death, the prosecutors said in their 19-page Omnibus Motion filed with the Sandiganbayan Tuesday. “(T)he prosecution is amenable to the withdrawal of the Information should there be an official document to show that the position of accused does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan,” they said. Defense lawyers earlier pointed out that under Republic Act. 8249 or the Sandiganbayan Law, the anti-graft court has exclusive original jurisdiction if the accused military official holds the rank of colonel in the Army or the Air Force, or naval captain at the time of the alleged crime. In the Information filed January 11, the prosecutors said Pestaño, whose death was earlier ruled as suicide, was killed due to his vocal objections to the use by his superiors of the Navy vessel to transport hot lumber and suspected illegal drugs. Charged were Navy Capt. Ricardo M. Ordoñez; Commanders Reynaldo P. Lopez and Alfrederick A. Alba; Lt. Commanders Luidegar C. Casis, Joselito L. Colico and Ruben B. Roque; Machinery Repairman 2nd Class Sandy P. Miranda; Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Welmenio U. Aquino; Petty Officer 1st Class Carlito B. Amoroso; Petty Officer 2nd Class Mil Leonor Y. Igacasan and a “John Doe.” Among the defendants, the one with the highest rank was Ordoñez, who retired on December 26, 2005 with the rank of Naval Captain.  However, the defense said Ordoñez was still a lieutenant commander in 1995 which was one level below the rank requirement. Still in active military service are Lopez and Casis, from Philippine Military Academy Class 1992; Alba and Colico of PMA Class 1994; and Aquino and Miranda. The prosecutors said the defendants conspired to cover-up the crime by making it appear that Pestaño took his own life by firing a gun into his temple. They also said the burden of proving that Ordoñez was still a lieutenant commander at the time of Pestaño’s death rests with the defense as it stressed that evidence on hand show that the official was within the Sandiganbayan’s jurisdiction. “The records of the case including the evidence gathered during the preliminary investigation, particularly the pleadings submitted by accused Ordoñez, indicate that his rank was only that of Naval Captain at the time of the commission of the crime. The onus of thus proving the contrary is on the defense,” the prosecution said. - KBK, GMA News