A Bacolod Regional Trial Court judge convicted two members of the Army Intelligence Division to 40 years imprisonment on Monday, April 18, for the murder of a Bayan Muna coordinator in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, in 2010.
Bacolod Regional Trial Court Branch 42 presiding judge, Ana Celeste Bernad, sentenced PFC Rafael C. Cordova alias Roger Bajon and PFC Reygine G. Laus alias Ronnie Caurino of the Philippine Army Intelligence Division to reclusion perpetua for the murder of Benjamin Bayles, on June 14, 2010.
They were also ordered to pay the heirs of Bayles P300,000 as civil indemnity, and moral and exemplary damages for the crime of murder with the use of an unlicensed firearm.
The prosecution said Bayles was walking towards a waiting shed at Crossing Antolo, Barangay Su-ay in Himamaylan City when he was shot by two men riding in tandem on a motorcycle at 4:30 p.m. on June 14, 2010.
A post mortem report said Bayles died from traumatic shock secondary to severe hemorrhage caused by multiple gunshot wounds.
Policemen after a chase apprehended the gunmen in Kabankalan City on the same day. On their arrest they did not give their real names and denied shooting Bayles.
But the judge said from the entirety of the testimonial and documentary evidence of the prosecution, they were able to establish the guilt of the accused.
“There is always a time for everything”, Edre U. Olalia, National Union of People’s Lawyers president, said.
“We waited more than a decade before two army personnel who killed in 2010 Benjamin Bayles, Bayan Muna coordinator and Iglesia Filipina Independiente member, to be convicted by a Negros court,” he said.
This speaks volumes, yet it is not lost on us that justice will come later even if not sooner, Olalia said.
“This is a clear message and warning to those who think there is immunity for impunity. But most of all, this is for those still waiting for justice to be served,” he added.
During the trial one of the private prosecutors, Ben Ramos, was also shot and killed by unidentified gunmen in Kabankalan City in 2018.*