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the accused were also said to be lost in the police files so the
government prosecutor only presented to the court a photocopy,
which is inadmissible as evidence. more seriously, the police also
did not investigate the fact that the victim Rev. Tadena received
several death threats prior to his killing for his active involvement
in the agrarian struggle of the farm workers of hacienda Luisita.
At this point, the prosecutor has already rested his case with the
photocopy of pictures as evidence.
Bro. Benjamin Bayles was killed on 14 June 2010
weeks before the new president was sworn into office.
he was killed by two hooded men on a motorcycle who
approached and shot him several times pointblank at a
roadside in himamaylan City in negros Occidental. while
fleeing from the crime scene, the suspects were arrested
by the police in the neighbouring City of Kabangkalan,
who made roadblocks after the police in himamaylan
called Cabangkalan police by radio regarding the fleeing
suspects. During the arrest, the suspect informed the
arresting officers that they were army operatives. Two .45
pistols with spent bullets were also recovered.
As the case progresses, there however are very worrying
results. One is the result of the ballistics and paraffin tests
conducted by police on the guns recovered and on the arms of
suspects. Both the ballistics and the paraffin tests gave negative
results telling that the slugs that killed the victims did not come
from the guns of the suspects. The negative paraffin tests also
tell that the suspects did not fire guns during the day that they
were arrested. And worse, the police radio communications
logbook in Cabangkalan City was lost, while the particular page
in the police radio communications logbook that recorded the
radio communications between the two police stations when
the suspects were arrested is likewise missing. This is telling,
that the records in the two police stations that show connection
between the killing in himamaylan City and that the arrest done in
Cabangkalan City are both gone. no investigation has been done
on the active political involvement of the victim in the agrarian
struggles of the sugar workers in negros.
Archbishop Alberto Ramento was killed while sleeping in
the rectory of the Parish Church in Tarlac City in the dawn
of 3 October 2006. Very quickly, within the same day the
police were able to gather all the witnesses and evidence
necessary to conclude that the killing of Archbishop
Ramento was a simple case of robbery with homicide.
within a few days, all the suspects were arrested. however,
at present, six years after, the case is still pending in
Regional Trial Court in Tarlac City. The police were able
to close the case within a day yet the court is not able to
convict the killers in six years.
The bigger question to be asked is this: why have the
police concluded the case without talking to the victim’s
family and his fellow clergymen in the Diocese of Tarlac?
article 2 � June-Sept 2012 Vol. 11, No. 2-3
Banner of (from left to
right) Benjamin Bayles,
Bishop Alberto Ramento
& Fr. William Tadena.
Photo: AHRC
Bishop Alberto Ramento.
Photo: WAC
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