Hope remains for capture of captain in Aquino-Galman slay

Thirty-one years after the assassination of former Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. at an airport tarmac in 1983, hope remains that the Air Force captain who fled to the US after being implicated in the killing would be brought back to the Philippines to face his charges and help solve the decades-old mystery.

 

This was the belief of Public Attorney's Office chief Persida Rueda-Acosta, who said that after all these years she was still confident Capt. Felipe Valerio could be extradited back to the Philippines from the US where he had migrated following the killing.

 

Acosta, as PAO chief, had actively worked for the release in 2009 of 10 soldiers convicted for the murder of Aquino on August 21, 1983 at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport.

 

The PAO chief insisted the convicted soldiers were innocent, and Valerio is pivotal in proving that.

 

The PAO extends free legal services to "indigent litigants, the oppressed, marginalized and underprivileged members of the society."

 

Valerio was the head of the 10-man team of Aviation Security Command (Avsecom) that was tasked to escort Aquino from the plane to the tarmac of the MIA, which was later renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport, in honor of the slain lawmaker. He was said to be carrying a hand-held radio during the incident, indicating he was in command at the time.

 

Following the twin killings of Aquino and his alleged gunman Rolando Galman, Valerio flew to the US where he is said to have since lived with his family, Acosta said. Valerio was never arraigned, causing the criminal case against him to get stalled.

 

Only when an accused has been arraigned can his or her trial proceed even in his absence.

 

Despite being far away from the reach of the Philippine government, the PAO chief said that the alias warrant and the extradition ordered by the Sandiganbayan Third Division against Valerio in 2005 both remain in effect.

 

"Kapag naaresto at na-extradite si Valerio and if God will do some work, tuloy uli ang kaso. This is not yet a lost cause," Acosta told GMA News Online in an interview.

 

President Benigno Aquino III has expressly said that his family was no longer interested in pursuing the three-decade-old case, but Acosta remains hopeful Valerio would be made to face his charges.

 

"The people is entitled to the truth. Ako personally, gusto ko ng justice for Ninoy," she said.

 

"Even (Ninoy's widow) si President Cory (Aquino), may letter siya noon addressed to the Board of Pardons na she wants the truth to prevail although she has forgiven the soldiers," Acosta added.

 

Aquino, a political opponent of then President and dictator Ferdinand Marcos, had just landed in the Philippines from a three-year self exile in the US when he was shot at the tarmac.

 

His death led to a national public outrage that culminated in the 1986 EDSA Revolution that ended the Marcos regime, restored democracy to the Philippines, and led to the slain senator's wife's rise to the presidency.

 

A trial during the Marcos administration led to the acquittal of more than 20 soldiers implicated in the killings in December 1985. The proceedings were later struck down by the Supreme Court during the Aquino administration as a sham trial and a retrial followed.

 

The retrial ended in the conviction of 16 soldiers in September 1990.

 

One has been pardoned, three have died in prison, while the rest received a commutation of sentence leading to their freedom.

 

In 2009, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo particularly ordered the Department of Justice to track down Valerio so he could provide new evidence on the twin slays.

 

Apart from Valerio, other individuals said to hold crucial clues on the assassination were Former Avsecom deputy commander Col. Romeo Ochoco, last reported to be in Australia, and Capt. Llewelyn Kavinta. —NB, GMA News