Rebel leader acquitted in Cagayan solon slay case

A Cagayan court on Friday found a rebel leader not guilty of the murder of a congressman and his aide in 2001. Judge Jezarene Aquino of the Tuguegarao Regional Trial Court Branch 5 said there was lack of evidence to prove that Randy Felix Malayao participated in the killings of Rep. Rodolfo Aguinaldo and his aide Joey Garro on June 12, 2001. Malayao is listed as a consultant of the National Democratic Front (NDF) peace panel and also allegedly the rebel group's former spokesperson for Northern Luzon. Malayao, who reportedly used the alias Salvador del Pueblo, was arrested by Criminal Investigation and Detection Group operatives and Army intelligence agents on May 15, 2008. While the judge has ordered his release, Malayao could not leave detention yet as he is still facing another murder charge in Ilagan, Isabela. However, he expressed confidence that like in the Aguinaldo-Garro case, he would also be acquitted in his remaining case. Apart from him, other suspects accused in the double murder case were Manuel Columbano, Gerald Mendoza, Evangeline Rapanut, Felix Robregado, Victor Servidores, Jose Maria Sison, Victor Tesorio, Wilfredo Valencia, and other John Does. Except for Robregado and Valencia, who are believed to have been killed in encounters with government forces, all the other accused remain at large, including Sison, who is in exile in the Netherlands. Aguinaldo, who rose to the rank of colonel in the defunct Philippine Constabulary, was tagged by the Amnesty International and leftist groups as a notorious human-rights violator under the Marcos regime. After his involvement in the Reform the Armed Forces Movement and various coup attempts during the presidency of Corazon Aquino, Aguinaldo went on to become governor of Cagayan from 1988 to 1990. He was Lower House representative for Cagayan’s 3rd district (1998 to 2001) when he was gunned down by a New People’s Army hit squad.—MDM/JV, GMANews.TV