Written by Kit Bagaipo
The Bohol Chronicle
Two youth activists charged with the attempt to kill Gov. Erico Aumentado four years ago were cleared by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) on Friday.
After four years of litigation, Jamaal Calipayan and Jessie Quintas were both cleared of any hand in the assassination try on Aumentado and the subsequent charges filed against them by the Bohol Police Provincial Office.
Aumentado, aboard his Mitsubishi Pajero together with three security aides and a driver were ambushed by four armed men, just a few meters away from the provincial Capitol on February 13, 2004.
In relation to the shooting incident, Calipayan and Quintas, organizers of militant youth organization Anakbayan, were initially charged with attempted murder, but this was downgraded to public disturbance due to lack of evidence.
In an eight-page decision, Judge Sisinio Virtudazo of RTC-7 Branch 1 in Tagbilaran City said, "The prosecution evidence failed to meet the quantum of proof beyond reasonable doubt necessary for conviction in a criminal case to overcome the presumption of innocence accorded by the Constitution to the accused."
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