The government prosecutors handling the murder case of lawyer Arbet Sta. Ana-Yongco are backing out of the case amid intense public scrutiny over their performance.
They asked the Department of Justice to send to Cebu a special prosecution team to handle the case to avoid being accused of being biased in favor of the accused, a member of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA), headed by cult leader Ruben Ecleo Jr.
City Prosecutor Cezar Tajanlangit and Assistant Regional State Prosecutor Vicente Mañalac announced their plan on Saturday, a day after lawyer Gloria Dalawampu, who was handpicked by the Bacolod family to take over from Yongco as private prosecutor in the Ecleo parricide case, also withdrew from the case against the alleged gunman in the Yongco murder case.
At the time of her death, Yongco was the private prosecutor in the parricide case against Ecleo for the murder of his wife, Alona Bacolod-Ecleo, fueling allegations that the Ecleo had a hand in her murder.
Yongco, 37, was shot four times by a lone gunman at 8:45 a.m. of Oct. 11 at her office located at the ground floor of her house in Barangay Zapatera here. She died a few minutes later at the Perpetual Succor Hospital.
Ecleo, through his chief legal counsel, Orlando Salantandre, has vehemently denied the allegation.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez was irked when told by the Inquirer yesterday that Tajanlangit and Mañalac wanted out of the case. He said he instead would have them investigated for their "singing session" with the defense lawyer and murder suspect Michael Favila inside the Cebu City prosecutors' office on Thursday.
The sing-along session, meant to diffuse tension, fueled public outcry and criticism against Dalawampu and the government prosecutors for "singing with the enemy." This prompted Dalawampu to decide against handling the Yongco case.
The singing session participated in by Dalawampu, Salatandre, Tajanlangit and Favila took place after Favila agreed to sign a waiver of detention during the preliminary investigation so that he could be placed in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) without any legal problem.
Gonzalez said Tajanlangit and other government prosecutors should not abandon their responsibility to handle the case because of negative public sentiments.
"Then they should prove to the public that the perception is wrong; that they are doing their job properly. Kung ganyan lang pala . . . kapag may konting atake sa iyo tatakbo ka na (If you retreat amid criticisms), you are not up to the job," he said.
Gonzalez said prosecutors are not prohibited from fraternizing with those from the opposite side but they should also know when they have overstepped the bound of legal ethics.
Gonzalez said he would evaluate Tajanlangit's request but would relieve Mañalac as one of the members of the panel handling the Yongco murder case because of his "irresponsible statements" that showed his bias for the PBMA.
Gonzalez even challenged Mañalac to resign from his job and apply as defense counsel for Favila. Mañalac earlier said he wanted to give up the case because he did not believe Favila was Yongco's killer.