A court dismissed the murder case against 14 individuals, including current and former officials of Moises Padilla and Isabela, Negros Occidental, after the complainant refused to pursue the charges.
Guihulngan City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Acting Presiding Judge Ma. Anna Priscila M. Pareja granted the defense’s motion to dismiss the case over the 2019 killing of Moises Padilla councilor Jolomar Hilario.
The ruling upheld the accused’s right to a speedy trial and sought to prevent further delays in the administration of justice.
Armed men killed Hilario in March 2019 at his home in Barangay Inolingan, Moises Padilla. The Leonardo Panaligan Command of the New People’s Army claimed responsibility and accused Hilario of being a military asset.
Authorities charged several officials and private individuals with murder.
The court cleared former Isabela mayor Joselito Malabor, Moises Padilla Vice Mayor Adrian Villaflor, Councilor Vincent Bryan Garcia, former councilors Jimmie Don Plaza and Morito Flores, former barangay captain Jonathan Villaflor and Feliza Villaflor, along with several others.
The court found that the private complainant, Leo Francis Hilario—the victim’s son—along with his mother, had decided to withdraw the case.
The public prosecutor informed the court that the complainant questioned the need to attend the hearing since they no longer wanted to pursue the charges.
Cleared
Following the dismissal, the judge ordered the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Bago City to release any remaining accused still in custody. Some of the accused had already posted bail.
The court also directed the complainant and private prosecutors to reimburse the accused’s legal expenses or face contempt charges.
Meanwhile, Moises Padilla Mayor Ella Garcia Yulo and her husband, Pimpoy Yulo, were also initially implicated in the complaint but excluded them from the court case.
At the time of the incident, authorities had detained them on separate charges of illegal possession of explosives and drugs.
The court later dismissed those charges, which Yulo claimed were politically motivated.
Malabor, who is running for a council seat in Isabela, once called the case political harassment and reaffirmed his commitment to seeking office.
He welcomed the court’s decision, seeing it as an opportunity to continue serving the public.*
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, contributes to Negros Daily Bulletin, and maintains a blog on Medium.