Hours after the Navotas City regional trial court (RTC) handed down on Tuesday, Feb. 27 its decison on the murder charges filed against six policemen for the death of 17-year-old Jerhode Jemboy Baltazar on Aug. 2, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said it will appeal the ruling before the Court of Appeals (CA).
DOJ Assistant Secretary Jose Dominic F. Clavano IV said the CA appeal will be handled by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).
“Ang susunod natin na hakbang dito ay iaapela natin ang desisyon sa Court of Appeals gamit ang Office of the Solicitor General (Our next step would be to appeal the RTC decision before the Court of Appeals),” Clavano said.
In its decision, the Navotas City RTC -- instead of murder as charged -- convicted one policeman of homicide an four policemen of illegal discharge of firearms. One policeman was acquitted of the murder charge.
Convicted of homicide was PSSG Gerry S. Maliban. PEMS Roberto D. Balais Jr., PSSg Nikko Pines C. Esquillon, PCpl Edward Jade S. Blanco, and Pat. Benedict D. Mangada were found guilty of illegal discharge of firearms. PSSg Antonio B. Bugayong Jr. was acquitted.
“We will exhaust all our legal remedies, move up to the Court of Appeals to be able to get the justice that we believe the Baltazar family deserves,” assured Clavano.
Jemboy’s parents, Rodaliza and Jessie, expressed their dismayed over the verdict handed by the trial court.
“Sobrang sakit ng nararamdaman ng pamilya ko dahil inaasahan po namin na anim silang macoconvict (My family is hurt because we expect all six of them would be convicted of murder),” said Rodaliza.
“‘Yung anak ko patay na. Habang buhay siyang wala na (My son is dead. He will be forever gone). Hndi po sapat ‘yung hatol po sa kanila (the judgment rendered was not sufficient),” said Jessie.
“Masakit sa amin na nawalan kami ng anak na kapuwang ko po sa paghahanap buhay (It hurts to have lost a son who has been helping me earn a living),” he added.
Despite the ruling, Clavano said the DOJ respects the decision of the judge.
“At the end of it all, dapat talaga makamit ang hustisya. Itong desisyon ngayon ay sa tingin ho namin hindi sapat dahil merong makakalaya na mga pulis (We want to achieve justice. This decision is not enough because the accused policemen will be released from detention),” he said.
After learning of the court’s decision, Clavano said DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla gave instructions to study the RTC ruling.
“Doon sa naging desisyon ng Korte nung binasaha ho natin marami po tayong nakitang areas or arguments doon sa desisyon na pwede pa rin natin iargue on appeal (In the decision of the court we found there many areas or arguments that we can argue about on appeal),” he also said.