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CA justice who acquitted Daniel Smith heads govt body vs private armies


The woman magistrate who penned the 2009 Court of Appeals ruling that acquitted US serviceman Lance Corporal Daniel Smith of raping a Filipina in Subic was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as head of an independent commission tasked to dismantle private armies nationwide. Associate Justice Monina Arevalo Zenarosa took her oath as chairperson of the commission before Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita on Tuesday, together with panel members Herman Basbaño, president of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas; retired Brig. Gen. Jaime Echevarria of the Association of Generals and Flag Officers; retired police deputy director Virtus Gil; and Dante Jimenez of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption. The two other members of the commission, Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and Mahmod Mala Adilao of the Bishop Ulama Conference, were not present during Zenarosa’s oath-taking. In April 2009, Zenarosa of the CA’s Special Eleventh Division reversed and set aside the decision of the Makati Regional Trial Court on December 4, 2006. The Makati RTC decision had earlier made Smith the first-ever American military personnel to be convicted of a crime on Philippine soil. Concurring with the CA decision were two other female magistrates, Remedios Salazar-Fernando and Myrna Dimaranan-Vidal. Several politicians and activist groups criticized the CA ruling and expressed doubts about the Philippine government’s ability to uphold its own laws and protect its citizens. But Zenarosa defended the ruling. "Our decision speaks for itself. We’re proud of it. (It was) based on the law, the facts, and our conscience. We cannot add anything more," she said in her interview with GMA News last year. Zenarosa, who joined the CA in 2004, was conferred the 2009 Huwarang Ina award for the law and judiciary category, which is given annually by the National Mother’s Day and Father’s Day Council and the Ideal Parents and Family Foundation. She is an alumna of the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Law and the Far Eastern University Institute of Laws where she earned her Masters of Laws degree. Zenarosa was a judge of the RTC of Angeles City and later became presiding judge of Branch 76 of the Quezon City RTC. She initially served as Quezon City assistant prosecutor for 15 years before serving as RTC judge for 14 years. Zenarosa had likewise worked as election registrar in Mercedes, Camarines Norte before becoming a technical assistant at the Abaca Development Board. She was also project officer for legal affairs of the government’s Task Force on Human Settlements. In an ambush interview after her oath-taking, Zenarosa said the commission would meet on Thursday at the Presidential Guest House where the panel is expected to set its agenda for the four-month deadline to dismantle private armies. Basbaño said that while “skepticism" over the capability of the commission to dismantle private armies within four months “is normal," the panel should still do its job rather than “not do... anything about the problem." “The four-month (deadline) given to us (and the) 40-year existence of private armies, (could be a) mismatch… But don't underestimate the resolve of the commission to confront this problem," he said. Mrs. Arroyo created the commission through Administrative Order No. 275, which was issued two weeks after the Nov. 23 massacre of at least 57 people, including 30 media workers in Ampatuan, Maguindanao. The crime, allegedly perpetrated by militiamen of the powerful Ampatuan clan, is believed to be the worst election-related violence in Philippine history. The administration has vowed to dismantle all private armies before the May 2010 polls. There are at least 132 armed groups connected to political clans in the country, most of them in Mindanao, according to Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales. The Defense chief said these private armed groups – composed of more or less 10,000 men - could be used by candidates to intimidate their opponents in the May polls. He did not identify the politicians who are maintaining the armed groups. - ARCS/JV, GMANews.TV

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