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SPO1 Adonis Dumpit will have to stay behind bars.
The Regional Trial Court (RTC) yesterday affirmed its previous decision that upheld the filing of a murder charge against Dumpit for shooting dead a 17-year-old robbery suspect on Dec. 14, 2004.
In her order, Judge Ester Veloso of RTC Branch 6 denied Dumpit's motion for reconsideration on her ruling that denied his petition to downgrade the charges against the policeman from murder to homicide.
Janeth Badana, mother of the victim, refused to comment on the court?s recent decision.
Veloso took into consideration an order from the the Ombudsman of the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices (Moleo) which ?reinstated? the filing of a murder charge against Dumpit.
Dumpit's lawyer Pedro Leslie Salva was disappointed with the court's decision.
?They may have put Dumpit behind bars and succeeded in their unprocedural maneuver to again upgrade the case to murder but they could not kill the spirit in him in fighting against criminals. Yes, we have no power to match the Ombudsman,? Salva said in a text message.
Julius Java, a special prosecution officer of Moleo, has ?reversed and set aside? the Aug. 12, 2009 resolution, which downgraded the charges against Dumpit to homicide.
?With the denial of the motion for reinvestigation, this office is devoid of any authority to conduct a reinvestigation, more so, render a resolution in the case. Now, the jurisdiction to decide on the instant controversy belongs to the court,? Java said.
He said the resolution on the reinvestigation should be considered ?moot and academic.?
Java also noted that Moleo was not notified that the prosecution had filed a pleading requesting their office to vacate an order granting reinvestigation.
Java's order was approved by Emilio Gonzales, deputy Ombudsman for Moleo; and Tanodbayan Merciditas Gutierrez.
Java was the same Moleo investigator who recommended the filing of a homicide case against Dumpit.
Java previously said there was no sufficient evidence to charge Dumpit for murder as it was established that there was aggression on the part of the victim and his group.
In April 2009, the anti-graft office originally filed murder charges?a non-bailable offense? against Dumpit in court.
Dumpit filed a motion for reinvestigation to delay the arrest warrant.
RTC Judge Beinvinido Saniel of Branch 20, the first judge to handle the case, granted the motion for reinvestigation.
Saniel, however, failed to rule on the motion when he dropped the case after he was accused of being biased by the victim?s party.
When Veloso was assigned to handle Dumpit's case, she ordered his arrest.
The judge also ordered Moleo to vacate its reinvestigation on the case.
Dumpit voluntarily surrendered on Feb. 1.
His arraignment will be on March 22.
