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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Family of victim in 2017 Samar ambush urges DOJ to pursue murder case

Family of victim in 2017 Samar ambush urges DOJ to pursue murder case

Published May 28, 2026 04:26 pm
The family of Enrique Manas Sr. has renewed the call to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to proceed with the filing of murder charges against the accused in the 2017 ambush case, following reports that one of the accused had filed a motion for reconsideration.
In urging the DOJ to stand firm in its earlier decision, the family pointed to the recent ruling of the Supreme Court of the Philippines upholding DOJ Circular No. 20, which raised the evidentiary threshold in preliminary investigations from probable cause to prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction before criminal cases may be filed in court.
The ruling, according to legal observers, further strengthens the legal basis of the DOJ’s recent decision to file criminal charges in the Manas case under the same evidentiary standard.
On April 6, the DOJ announced that the criminal information against Emilio Zosa, Arturo Deborborn, Ricky Calagos, Reymart Antivo, and Sofronio Medoranda had already been received by the court on March 19, 2026.
The incident, it was recalled, happened n Sta. Margarita, Samar. 
The filing of the case implemented the Jan. 16, 2025 resolution issued by former DOJ secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla directing that charges be filed after finding sufficient evidence to move the case forward to court proceedings.
According to the Manas family, the resolution was based on a careful evaluation of the evidence and the case should now be allowed to proceed to trial where the allegations and defenses of both sides may properly be examined.

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