by Miriam G. Desacada
Tacloban City–For lack of probable cause and insufficient evidences, the Leyte Provincial Prosecution Office dismissed two murder complaints against San Isidro town Mayor Remedio Balmoria Veloso, his brother Emmanuel, and several others.
The first one to be dismissed was the murder complaint filed by Lorraine de Veyra for the killing of her brother Audie Jesus de Veyra who was shot dead at Barangay Abanilla in Calubian, Leyte, a town adjacent to San Isidro, on April 21, 2021.
For that killing incident, she filed a murder complaint against San Isidro Mayor Veloso, his brother businessman Emmanuel “Wengweng” and their relatives policeman Manuelito Balmoria Sidaya, and Jhundy Lucero.
Her complaint was based only on the testimonies of supposed witnesses, Zoilo M. Veloso and Emmanuel M. Veloso—a politician of Calubian—who turned out to have not actually saw the shooting and whose statements turned out to be hearsays.
The resolution, dated 21 of June 2021, dismissing the complaint was signed by prosecutor Wildebrandt Loayon and approved by provincial prosecutor Ma. Arlene Huñamayor-Cordovez.
Prior to the resolution, on May 11 this year, Lorraine already executed an affidavit of desistance with recantation, claiming that “she is no longer interested in the prosecution of this case for there was an investigation conducted showing that the assailant’s identity cannot be ascertained.”
The state prosecutors, in the resolution, declared that they found the complaint “unmeritorious and baseless” citing the “conflicting and unreliable statements of complainant’s witnesses that, in turn, destroyed their credibility.”
The prosecutors said “mere allegation is not evidence and is not equivalent to proof,” adding that the complainant failed to substantiate the allegation, which therefore must be dismissed.
A second murder complaint, this one filed by CIDG-8 personnel, P/Lt. Col. Norman Patnaan, P/Capt. Liberato Yorpo and P/Corp. Mike Yawhell Palma, was dismissed for insufficient evidence.
The complainants accused Mayor Veloso, his brother Wengweng, and their relatives (policeman Cayetano Balmoria Dagandan and Manuelito Balmoria Sidaya) for the killing of Levi Apordo Mabini, former administrative officer of San Isidro LGU, on May 8, 2019.
This complaint, however, was also dismissed for insufficiency of evidence via a resolution, dated 15 of June this year, which was penned by senior assistant provincial prosecutor Fabio Siosana Jr. and approved by Ma. Arlene Huñamayor-Cordovez
The prosecutors said the testimonies of two of three supposed witnesses, Zello and Jed, are “deemed useless” because they are neither witnesses to the shooting incident nor to the identities of the gunmen” as their statements were practically hearsays as well.
Mayor Veloso and brother Wengweng immediately issued a press statement about the dismissal of murder complaints against them and their relatives.
“From the very beginning, we were pretty sure that the cases filed against us were fabricated and, politically motivated and therefore, utterly bereft of any fact and veracity. We were also confident that it shall never move forward due to the lack of any probable cause and basis,” they said.
The provincial prosecution found that the complaints were unfounded and malicious aimed only to tarnish the reputation of the respondents, they said, as they thanked the prosecution for upholding the truth and justice.
While they were happy with the outcome, Mayor Veloso and Wengweng however expressed sadness to the inattention instead over the “inhuman, senseless, and coward killing of our sister Juanita Veloso on December 21, 2022.”
The filing of the murder complaints against them instead, effectively diverted the attention of authorities from the killing of septuagenarian Juanita, a bestial act “clearly motivated by lust for political clout and power.”
The Velosos brothers said: “Instead of focusing on the investigation, the prosecution of the assailants and the people behind it, and the prompt resolution of the case, efforts were wrongly invested on unrelated and senseless matters such as the police raid conducted at the Veloso residences at Brgy. Linao, and Brgy. Matungao, San Isidro, Leyte,” made worse by the filing of unsubstantiated complaints against them.
‘It is our hope that, with this dismissal, we can now continue the journey towards achieving truth and justice (for the killing of Juanita),” they said.
“We shall take this little victory as a further inspiration to continue to work for the common good of our constituents and to contend for justice and peace in the face of abuse of power, exploitation, and the culture of impunity!” concluded Mayor Veloso, and his brother Wengweng. —Miriam G. Desacada