The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) on Sunday expressed its disappointment over the decision of the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) to acquit communist group leaders for their role in the Inopacan Massacre which took place in the 1980s.

“We are deeply saddened and dismayed with the news that the Manila RTC Branch 32, under Presiding Judge Thelma Bunyi-Medina, has granted the demurrers to evidence resulting in the acquittal of known communists, namely former Bayan Muna representative Satur Ocampo; National Democratic Front (NDF) consultants Vicente Ladlad, Rafael Baylosis and Adelberto Silva, among others, two for the perpetration of at least 15 summary executions in the killing fields by the NPA in Sapang Dako, Inopacan, Leyte in the 1980s,” NTF-ELCAC vice chair Hermogenes Esperon Jr., who is also National Security Adviser, said.

He said the murder case was filed to give justice to the gruesome deaths of 67 individuals, whose skeletal remains were unearthed in the said town on Aug. 28, 2006.

After the mass grave discovery, Esperon, who was then the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff, filed 15 counts of murder before the Manila Regional Trial Court against Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria Sison and 37 others for their alleged involvement in the massacre.

Also sued were couple Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, Ocampo, Ladlad, Randal Echaniz, Baylosis, and Exusperado Lloren, among others.

The victims, all members of the New People’s Army (NPA), were summarily executed for reportedly working with the government based on the orders of the CPP.

“The clear intention behind the Inopacan massacre case is to stand, speak, and obtain justice for the dead — the victims and their families. With the purest intentions, we fought for what is right and the truth. We hoped that light will shine and pass through even in the eye of the needle,” Esperon said.

The NTF-ELCAC vice chair also said the acquittal does not mean that the crimes were not committed.

“The grim fate suffered by the Inopacan massacre victims in the evil hands of Joma Sison and his co-defendants remains,” he pointed out.

The Supreme Court (SC) held that once a demurrer to evidence has been granted in a criminal case, this amounts to an acquittal.

“With the quantum of evidence of proof beyond reasonable doubt required by our criminal judicial system, we still emphasize that a ruling in favor of the accused does not equate to innocence nor the finding that the crime did not happen. The philosophy is based on Blackstone’s formulation that it is better to acquit ten guilty men, than to convict an innocent man. To reiterate, the decision is based on insufficiency of evidence and not that the crime did not happen at all,” Esperon said.

He also noted that prevailing law and jurisprudence recognize two kinds of acquittal.

“First is an acquittal on the ground that the accused is not the author of the act or omission complained of. Second instance is an acquittal based on reasonable doubt on the guilt of the accused,” he said, adding that acquittal on this case lies on the second kind, grounded on the alleged insufficiency of prosecution’s evidence.

“Again, it does not mean that the 15 murder cases were not committed and that the accused were not responsible for the gruesome crimes,” he said. This simply means that the quantum of evidence of proof beyond reasonable doubt was not met in eyes of the presiding judge.

“Still, the technical victory of the communists in this case does not obliterate in the eyes of history and of the people their brutal killing fields and summary executions without due process — the emblem of their egregious and blatant disrespect of human rights and sanctity to life which they purport to protect,” he added.

Esperon also said the NTF-ELCAC is unmoved by this temporary setback and numerous cases and warrants are still pending for the communists and their coddlers who sow terrorism and acts of injustice.

He added that the SC’s upholding of the constitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 will greatly aid in the prosecution of the malevolent evildoers and bring them to the doorstep of justice.

“With your help and cooperation, the NTF-ELCAC remains steadfast in its quest to vanquish communist terrorism and will hunt down and prosecute those who are liable to the fullest extent of the law,” Esperon said. (PNA)