DEMURRER TO EVIDENCE | Manila court acquits Baby River’s mother, 2 others of illegal arms charges

July 27, 2023 , 09:57 PM

By Clarist Zablan

(July 27, 2023) – A Manila regional trial court (RTC) has acquitted three left-wing activists, including the mother of Baby River, of charges of illegal possession of firearms due to insufficient evidence, the activists’ legal counsel said on Thursday.

In a resolution dated July 17, as published by the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), the Branch 47 of the Manila RTC granted a motion for reconsideration to reverse the denial of demurrer to evidence for urban poor organizers Reina Mae Nasino, Ram Carlo Bautista, and Alma Moran.

The resolution, penned by acting presiding judge John Benedict Medina, cited a failure of the prosecution to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

“The court finds that the unmistakable conflicting testimonies of the prosecution witnesses generate serious doubt as to whether the firearms with ammunition and explosives were really found in the rooms of the accused as they were not identified with sufficient particularity,” an excerpt of the resolution read.

Nasino, Moran, and Bautista were arrested in 2019 during a search operation at the office of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) in Tondo.

Police officers had insisted that they seized illegal arms from the activists, but Nasino’s camp alleged the guns and explosives were planted.

The court allowed them to post bail last December, three years after their detention, citing the prosecution’s failure to show strong evidence against them.

The case sparked public outrage due to the treatment of Nasino and her daughter Baby River, who were separated a month after her birth in detention despite doctor’s advice for breastfeeding due to the baby’s poor health. Baby River died at three months old.

The issue sparked calls from progressive groups and human rights advocates for better treatment of pregnant persons deprived of liberty.

Kabataan Partylist said they welcomed the acquittal of Nasino, Bautista, and Moran. But the party-list group urged authorities to open an investigation into the alleged irregularities in the police raid that led to their arrest.

“Dapat imbestigahan at panagutin ang mga kawatang pulis at opisyal na nagsagawa ng iligal na raid at pag-aresto,” Kabataan said in a statement.

(MM)

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