Hold departure orders issued in Esperat slay

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice on Friday issued hold-departure orders against two principal suspects in the killing of journalist Marlene Esperat. The move came two days after the Cebu City regional trial court issued warrants of arrest against same persons. The two separate orders were signed by Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez who directed the Bureau of Immigration to place Osmena Montaner, chief finance officer, and Estrella Sabay, chief accountant, under its watch list and prevent their flight. Both suspects had worked at the Department of Agriculture-Region 12 (Central Mindanao) when Esperat was killed. Esperat, columnist of the Midland Review who also worked as a radio broadcaster, was brutally gunned down at close range in front of her children, inside her home in Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat in the evening of March 24, 2005. Both Montaner and Sabay have been tagged as masterminds. More popularly known as Madame Witness because of her public service media work, Esperat had been the target of assassination attempts including a grenade attack on her house in 2003 and an attempted abduction in 2002 after she filed several graft cases against Montaner. Three others have been accused of participation in the murder. They are ex-Sgt. Estanislao Bismanos, alias Jun; Gerry Cabayag, the confessed triggerman; and Randy Grecia, alias Jeck, who acted as look-out. The three have earlier been convicted by the Cebu RTC and sentenced to reclusion perpetua or 40 years imprisonment. Another accused who turned state witness, Rowie Barua, an ex-military intelligence officer who acted as coordinator, was acquitted. The issuance of the warrants against Montaner and Sabay came following the reopening of the Esperat case almost exactly the same time last year. Montaner and Sabay were earlier dropped from the roll of respondents for lack of evidence linking them to three other accused who were found guilty for Esperats murder, until Barua and Estellita Jardino, an accountant at the Agricultural Training Institute, directly implicated the two suspects in the killing. Barua was the alleged lover of Sabay and a trusted henchman of Montaner. He said that the two accused were motivated by their anger to exact vengeance against Esperat after she exposed several anomalies in the DA regional office. He testified that as early as January 2005, the two accused have been discussing with him their problem about Esperat's criminal complaint against them before the Sandiganbayan. Barua said Montaner - whom he described as a powerful person wielding considerable influence in the area - had been planning to kill Esperat but she was elusive. He had already hired someone to kill her and had already spent a huge sum. He admitted that he was not the triggerman but was present during the killing and its planning by Montaner and Sabay. For her part, Jardino testified that she was supported by Esperat in her efforts against the graft syndicate of Montaner and Sabay. She herself had once been shot in the head and left for dead, but survived the ordeal. Jardino said that shortly before Esperat's death, they renewed their public information campaign to expose Montaner and his group, prompting the latter to send them death threats should they continue their exposes. - GMANews.TV