Family of slain botanist asks DOJ prosecutor to inhibit from probe

(Updated 12:08 p.m.) Marking the 100th day after the death of renowned botanist Leonard Co, doctor Lily Co-Austria lamented the Department of Justice's supposed slow-paced investigation into the murder complaint against her brother's alleged killers. Breaking into tears, Co-Austria likewise demanded the inhibition of Assistant Prosecutor Bryan Jacinto Cacha, who is part of the panel looking into the murder complaint filed against members of the Philippine Army's 19th Infantry Battalion. Cacha used to be part of the DOJ fact-finding panel that ruled that members of the New People's Army, and not the military, were responsible for the killing of Co, forest guard Sofronio Cortez, and guide Julius Borromeo at the Energy Development Corp. premises in Kananga, Leyte on Nov. 15, 2010. "How can Prosecutor Cacha be part of the second panel, when in the first panel, he already said it was the NPA members who killed my brother? Three of them are in the new panel, and if one sides with him, what will happen to our case?" asked Co-Austria. Co-Austria and her family's supporters picketed in front of the Department of Justice office in Manila. Sought for comment, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said that two weeks ago, she had issued a department order assigning a different prosecutor to replace Cacha. "It's just a case of plain oversight. So two weeks ago, I issued a department order. Somebody invited my attention about that [the inclusion of Cacha in the second panel]. I didn't notice it immediately, but I rectified it when my attention was called," De Lima said at a news briefing. Last January, Co's family filed a murder complaint accusing 38 members of the Philippine Army's 19th Infantry Battalion of murdering Co and his two other companions in Leyte in November last year. The military had claimed that the three were killed in a crossfire between elements of the 19th IB and New People's Army (NPA) rebels. But Co's family said they do not believe the military because the Army's shooting was supposedly "specifically directed only at Co, Borromeo, Cortez and their companions." — Sophia Dedace/RSJ, GMA News