Sunday, February 19, 2012

The Story behind the Pestaño Case

This is a repost from Calvin's Hub.
You probably heard a lot about corruption these days with the inquisition going on regarding retired generals and the wealth they accumulated from public coffers throughout the years even after their retirement.
It sickens me that the leaders of the so-called “defenders of our nation” are doing these to us. Sometimes I pity the loyal footsoldiers who serve under these corrupt commanding officers.
Anyway, you might be wondering who this Pestaño is? Not a lot of people knew him but he’s one of our heroes in this fight against corruption in the military. Here’s the story of Ensign Philip Andrew Azarcon Pestaño of the Philippine Navy:

Pestaño’s story

pestanoIn 1995, Ensign Philip Pestaño was the ship’s deck officer and cargo master for the Navy logistics ship Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas. He was the one in charge of the cargo being loaded on and off the ship.
Anyway, he discovered that the cargo being loaded onto his vessel includes illegally cut logs that were going to be sold illegally, sacks of flour which were not flour at all but shabu, and military weapons which were going to be sold to the Abu Sayaff.
His conscience won’t let him approve of the cargo. Superior officers asked him to be reasonable because it’s a big business and it involves many important people. But Philip could not, in conscience, sign approval.
When Philip was given leave to go home, his parents received calls asking them to get his son off the ship or he will be killed. Many times his family begged him not to go back. His father wants him to resign and give up his military career for fear of his life but Philip said to his father: ‘Kawawa ang bayan!’ and he went back to the ship.
On September 27, 1995, Ensign Pestaño was found dead in his cabin when the ship arrived at Roxas Boulevard from Cavite. The Navy immediately ruled his death as suicide based on a suicide note found in his stateroom. However, handwriting experts concluded that the note was a forgery.

Investigation

In a Senate investigation sponsored by then Senator Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo two years later, they found out that:
“Pestaño did not kill himself aboard the BRP Bacolod City. . . . He was bludgeoned unconscious and then shot to death somewhere else in the vessel. His body was moved and laid on the bed where it was found. . . .
“The clear absence of blood spatters, bone fragments or other human tissues is physical evidence more eloquent than a hundred witnesses. It is impossible for a person who has just sustained a fatal head injury to walk from some other place in his room, lie on his bed and drop dead. . . .
“He was killed by an assailant, necessarily aboard the BRP Bacolod City. . . . The attempt to make it appear Pestaño killed himself, inside his stateroom, was so deliberate and elaborate that one person could not have accomplished it by himself.”
This debunked the findings of the Navy, the NBI and Western Police District who officially ruled that it was a case of suicide.
But what happened? Just last year, August 2010, the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed the murder charges filed by the family of Ensign Phillip Pestaño againstPhilippine Navy officials. Ombudswoman Merceditas Gutierrez ruled that there was no sufficient evidence to arrive at a fair and reasonable resolution that the crime of murder was committed and that those accused were likely guilty thereof.
There are many more deaths / disappearances that happened following this case. Ensign Pestaño was one of the fallen soldiers who stood against corruption that inspired Sen. Trillanes and the Magdalo Group to launch a mutiny against the unabated corruption in the military.
With the investigation regarding military corruption going on today, and Angelo Reyes taking his secrets to his grave, one couldn’t help but think of Pestaño’s last words, “Kawawa ang Bayan!’.

- end -

There are latest developments on this case as of today.

Another case of 'do-it-yourself' justice by Rina Jimenez-David
Experts insists on Pestaño death was suicide by Dona Z Pazzibugan
Why I defend accused in Pestaño case by Mon Tulfo
Pestaño's case: The True Story by Mon Tulfo

Now, what has this issue something to do with me?

Yes I  long to have a fair and just government in my country. Moreover, a blood brother of mine is currently in the military academy and (as he claims :p) is doing good in his academics. I am kind of affected by this Pestaño case in a way since it can happen to any upright military man. When a lot of anomalies and scandals are linked to the superiors in the AFP, it is hard to think how a righteous person deal with this too much politicking within the military. Going along with it is treachery to the country and counteracting and challenging it can lead to a fatal ending. It is as if every genuinely patriotic and kindhearted individual who joins the roster has to choose between those two options.

A few hours ago, I have attended the thanksgiving mass for the reopening of the Pestaño case. Whatever is true behind this case, whether he was really killed or was into suicide, I do hope and pray that the truth will come finally come out. We've heard a lot of these stories in this country where the victim's relatives with the means and resources are able to challenge a perceived injustice and which poor people are not able to do. I don't know until when such stories will end but at least one a time, we try. PNoy was not my president but I still have hope that he continues his goal to clean this government, somehow bringing justice to those who are deprived of it.

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