Umpa moves to send cops back to prison

By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent

PROSECUTORS would ask regional Judge Vincent Rosales to reconsider his ruling that allowed Senior Insp. Charles Ludwig Espera and Insp. Arnel Gighe, two of the suspects in the Jamaca-Yabut murders, to bail out.

Regional state prosecutor Jaime Umpa said this even as frowned over the judge’s ruling that allowed the two police officials to post a P250-thousand bailbond each, saying that the decision was a mistake.

Umpa said Rosales should reverse the ruling and send the accused back to Lumbia jail, noting that the judge was asked to inhibit by the Jamaca family, and he granted it in August.

“Dili na unta siya (Judge Rosales) mag-hearing sa motion for bail kay iya na man nga gi-grant ang motion to inhibit,” Umpa pointed out.

Judge Rosales, for his part, said his ruling could be reversed any time provided the prosecutors would present strong evidence against Espera and Gighe.

Rosales said he granted Espera and Gighe’s motion for bail because the testimony of the witness, survivor Jim Jamaca, was doubtful.

In his 26-page ruling in Sept. 15, Rosales said the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence during the hearing on the motion for bail.

“The prosecution has yet to present more evidence, suffice to say that at this stage, for application for bail the weight of the evidence presented by the prosecution is not strong, to warrant a denial of the application,” reads part of the judge’s ruling.

Espera and Gighe was identified as among those who took Jamaca, his girlfriend Ma. Erica Yabut, and cousins Roland and Roland Jamaca from a house in Carmen.

Jim and Yabut were brought to FS Catanico where they were shot while the Jamaca siblings were found murdered in Mambuaya.

Espera and Gighe were identified by Jim as the ones who attacked him and his girlfriend in FS Catanico. The survivor lost one of his hands.

But Judge Rosales said Jim only identified Espera and Gighe through photographs shown to him by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

“Niadto pang Dec. 13 siya (Jim Jamaca) nakaila ni Espera ug Gighe sa dihang gipakita na kaniya ang pipila ka mga picture nga na-a na da-an ang mga ngalan nila. So kini dili mopasar sa out-of-court identification nga ruling sa Supreme Court. Mao kini ang hinongdan ngano nga ang testimony ni Jim weak,” explained Rosales.

There was however an opportunity for Jim and the two police officials to face each other in court during an earlier hearing. The prosecutor wanted the accuser to identify Espera and Gighe in court but for some reason, the suspects’ lawyer objected, and it was disallowed.

Rosales said he granted the motion to inhibit filed by the Jamaca family in Aug. 14 but he took it back several days later because of an order from the Court Administrator of the Supreme Court that applications for bail should be resolved immediately because these only require summary proceedings.

Rosales said it was the prosecution that delayed the proceedings. “Kay ang prosecution nagsigi na man lang ug pangayog postponement sa hearing sa motion for bail kay ang ilang testigos na si Jim Jamaca tu-a man sa Manila kay gipa-ubos man kini sa witness protection program sa Department of Justice, so dili nila madali dali magdala dinhi sa Cagayan, ug nadugay ang hearing sa motion for bail,” Rosales said.