• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
After seven years behind bars, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 42 in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, acquitted the so-called ‘Mabinay 6,’ who faced criminal charges filed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in 2018.
The court released a judgement on the six accused on September 22, acquitting them of the accusation of possessing high-powered firearms and explosives filed by the 62nd Infantry Battalion.
The six were arrested on March 3, 2018, in Barangay Luyang, Mabinay, Negros Oriental, after what the military described was a 45-minute encounter between the two parties.
Known collectively as the ‘Mabinay 6,’ the group includes Myles Albasin, a journalist and mass communication graduate of University of the Philippines – Cebu City; Randel Hermino, a native of Negros Oriental from a family of sugarcane workers; Carlo Ybañes, who grew up in an urban poor community in Cebu; and peasant youth Joemar Indico, Joey Vailoces, and Bernard Guillen.
The acquittals followed a trial marked by conflicting claims and evidence. A key piece of evidence was the paraffin test conducted by the Negros Oriental Provincial Crime Laboratory, which revealed that all of the accused tested negative for powder burns. This proved that the confiscated high-powered firearms were not in their possession.
Moreover, the court saw numerous loopholes including the absence of proof during the alleged armed encounter and the improper handling of evidence.
“It was hard for the court to simply ignore the numerous loopholes in the evidence for the prosecution as these make the prosecution’s version of the incident doubtful. Accordingly, our clients have not been found guilty beyond reasonable doubt,” Atty. Kristian Jacob Casas-Abad Lora, one of the lawyers of the accused, stated in an online post.
Based on the video captured by Bulatlat during the hearing, the family members of the detained activists were emotional as they embraced their acquitted loved ones. As of the press time, the ‘Mabinay 6’ are about to reunite with their family and friends outside the cell.*
