Court denies bail for 3 accused in slay of Agusan mining exec
PROSPERIDAD, Agusan del Sur (MindaNews / 01 March) – A court in Quezon City has ordered the continued detention of three suspects in the killing of retired Col. Samuel Afdal while the trial of their case is ongoing.
In a resolution dated January 10, Judge Juris Dilinila-Callanta of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 85, denied the petition of murder suspects Ryan Mark Baylon, Rosalino Degracia and Alemar Awado to post bail, as the prosecution has, so far, showed strong evidence of guilt.
The resolution, which ordered the suspects’ continued detention, was shown Thursday to Mindanews by the lawyers of Afdal’s widow, Evelyn.
The circumstances narrated by prosecution witnesses during their testimony before the court, according to Callanta’s resolution, “would establish that accused Baylon, Degracia and Awado are probably guilty of the offense charged.”
Afdal, owner of Rosario Manobo Mining Corp., was wounded in an ambush on October 26, 2021 while driving on an uphill bend toward the company’s base camp in Rosario, Agusan del Sur. He died on Nov. 15, 2021, while undergoing treatment in a hospital in Davao City.
A fourth suspect, former New People’s Army (NPA) rebel Jeffrey Mamerto, confessed to being the triggerman, and pointed to Baylon as the alleged mastermind who offered Degracia and Awado P200,000 for the hit job, and telling him about a good location to ambush the former soldier.
Mamerto further confessed to have been paid P50,000 by Degracia and Awado, who were his former NPA comrades.
“Apparently, accused Baylon’s inducement and command with a promise of reward or monetary consideration facilitated the commission of the crime of murder,” Callanta’s resolution said.
The Afdal family, in a press conference in Davao City on Friday, welcomed the decision of the court to keep Baylon, Degracia and Awado in jail while facing trial.
“It is only fitting for the three accused, especially the mastermind, who has a propensity to evade justice, to be locked in detention while trial is underway, to ensure the speedy resolution of the case,” the Afdal family said in a statement.
Baylon was arrested on July 1 last year, in Kibawe, Bukidnon, after almost three months of hiding since a warrant was issued against him. He is currently detained at the Quezon City Jail, along with Degracia, while Awado is in a jail in Bislig City where he is being tried for another murder case.
Mamerto is serving a 10-year sentence at Davao Penal Colony after his conviction on November 15, 2023, for the lesser offense of homicide in a plea bargaining deal with the prosecution.
From Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur, the case has been heard in Quezon City since April last year following a Supreme Court order for its transfer, upon the prosecution’s request. (Chris Panganiban Sr./MindaNews)
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