SC junks activist priest’s bid to intervene in ‘Abadilla 5’ case

The Supreme Court has denied the motion of activist priest Robert Reyes to intervene in the appeal of the five men convicted for the killing of retired Colonel Rolando Abadilla, a Marcos-era Constabulary. At a news briefing on Wednesday, Supreme Court spokesperson and administrator Jose Midas Marquez said the court found no merit in Reyes’ claims that the communist hit squad Alex Boncayao Brigade was responsible for Abadilla’s killing in 1996. "Apparently, Fr. Robert Reyes was approached by someone who’s saying that Abadilla was killed by the Alex Boncayao Brigade. The court did not find merit in the motion for leave to intervene to file a manifestation," Marquez said. He added that according to the high tribunal, Reyes’ claims were based on hearsay. "It appears that Fr. Robert Reyes did not have a personal knowledge of what was told him. It was just mentioned to him." GMANews.TV was still trying to reach Reyes as of posting time for his comment. Reyes’ intervention On Sept. 7, 2010, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction of the five men, collectively known as the “Abadilla 5," for the killing of Abadilla. The five — SPO2 Cesar Fortuna, Rameses de Jesus, Lenido Lumanog, Joel de Jesus, and Augusto Santos — were first convicted by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court in Aug. 1999. The guilty verdict was upheld by the Court of Appeals. The five men are appealing the Supreme Court’s affirmation of the two rulings. Last week, Reyes went to the Supreme Court to file a motion to intervene and an attached manifestation. He said his manifestation aims to boost the Abadilla 5’s motion for reconsideration. Reyes insisted that the five had nothing to do with the crime because the ABB had admitted to carrying out Abadilla’s execution. Reyes said that in January 2000, an ABB leader went to him and gave him Abadilla’s Omega watch, which the ABB killers supposedly took from the slain colonel. Reyes did not identify the ABB leader. But Marquez said that even if Reyes’ motion to intervene was junked, the five men’s motion for reconsideration remains pending. He said the high court also “noted without action" Reyes’ separate manifestation. — KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV