A COURT in Misamis Occidental has cleared the three accused in the 2023 killing of radio broadcaster Juan Jumalon, also known as “Johnny Walker,” after ruling that police operatives arrested the wrong suspects in the case.
Jumalon was gunned down while doing his early morning program on 94.7 Calamba Gold FM inside his home in Calamba, Misamis Occidental on November 5, 2023.
In a ruling promulgated on March 18 but only made public yesterday, Calamba, Presiding Judge Michael Ajoc of Branch 36 of the Misamis Occidental Regional Trial Court cleared Jolito Mangompit, Reynante Saja Bongcawel, and Boboy Sagaray Bongcawel of any involvement in the killing of Jumalon.
Ajoc held that the prosecution failed to present evidence to prove the guilt beyond reasonable doubt of the three accused.
“In this case, the prosecution failed to convincingly prove the identity of the criminals, particularly the one who shot and killed the victim Juan T. Jumalon. It was not prosecution witnesses who gave the name and identity of Julito Mangompit as the gunman,” the court said.
“Not one of the documentary evidence presented by the prosecution in this case mention the name of Jolito Mangompit or the name of the two other accused Boboy and Reynante as the persons responsible for the murder of Juan T. Jumalon,” it also said.
It noted that even the Incident Record Form which contained the initial investigation by the police on the day of the incident described the three perpetrators as unidentified suspects.
The court also cited the statement of prosecution witness Jerebel Jumalon who testified that it was only the police officers who told her that Mangompit was the gunman.
It added that Jerebel, along with two other prosecution witnesses, failed to give any prior description during the initial investigation that matched the description of the three accused, except for the clothing and ballcap worn by the perpetrators.
The court said the prosecution also failed to explain why the computerized facial composite of the suspects was dated August 8, 2023 when Jumalon was killed only in November, or three months later.
The court likewise took note of the testimony of accused Boboy Bongcawel that he could not have participated in the killing of the broadcaster as he suffered a stroke in 2020 and was having difficulty moving the left part of his body.
“Even the mugshots showing front, left and right side angle of his body shows that he was using his right hand in the entire procedure. When asked by the Court why, he claimed he cannot hold it with his left hand,” it said, adding Bongcawel’s claim was supported by testimonies of two physicians who attended to his medical treatment.
On Reynante Bongcawel, the court said noted that he was investigated and charged with the two others simply because he was a Facebook friend of Boboy and have pictures of them together that were posted online.
“Aside from the fact that accused’s defense of denial and alibi was corroborated in its material portions by testimonies of credible witnesses, the burden of proof is on the prosecution. Unless it discharges that burden, the accused need not even offer evidence in his behalf, and he would be entitled to an acquittal,” the court said.
The court also noted that the accused’s fingerprints did not match those that were collected from the crime scene, which were believed to belong to the real killers.
The totality of the evidence presented by the prosecution, the could ruled, was “patently insufficient” to prove the guilt of Mangompit as the gunman, Boboy Bongcawel as allegedly the one who pointed a gun on the gatekeeper, and Reynante Bongcawel as the supposed look-out and driver of the getaway vehicle “beyond reasonable doubt.”
“Where the prosecution has failed to discharge the onus probandi for the pronouncement of guilt beyond reasonable doubt, the constitutional presumption of innocence in favor of the accused will result to an acquittal,” the court ruled.
The court then chided the authorities for arresting and presenting the wrong suspects, saying it smacked of grave injustice.
“When a wrong person is brought to trial, it not only defeats the several purposes of our criminal justice system but rubs a grain of salt into the wounds sustained by the grieving family of the murdered victim,” it said.
“May the authorities exert all their efforts, time and money to look after the real killers and mastermind of the callous murder of Juan T. Jumalon and give his family the justice they deserve,” it added.
The court, however, ordered Mangompit’s continued detention for an unrelated criminal case against filed against him in Zamboanga del Norte. – With Jocelyn Montemayor
The brazenness of Jumalon’s killing shocked the media industry and prompted the provincial government of Misamis Occidental, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) to offer a P3.7 million reward for information leading to the arrest of his killers.
The PTFoMS yesterday vowed to explore available legal remedies to bring the killers of Jumalon to justice.
“We will review the case proceedings in close coordination with the Department of Justice to assess aspects of the investigation and trial. We will explore all legal remedies available to bring the perpetrators to justice and will not allow this case to end without exhausting every means to establish accountability for this heinous crime. And will not allow this case to end without exhausting every means to establish accountability for this heinous crime,” it said in a statement.
It added that it fully respects the independence of the judiciary and the legal process that led to its decision to acquit the suspects in Jumalon’s murder but warned that the verdict will raise significant questions and concerns, particularly from the media community and among the loved ones of the late broadcaster.
