CEBU CITY — A former municipal mayor bowed his head and closed his eyes while the decision of the court was being read on Wednesday morning.
But former Mayor Alfredo Arsenio of Lezo town in Aklan opened his eyes and looked at Judge Sylva Aguirre-Paderanga in disbelief after hearing that he had just been meted 14 years imprisonment for the death of a broadcast journalist in his hometown.
The former mayor was originally charged with murder for killing Herson Hinolan, Bombo Radyo station manager, on Nov. 13, 2004.
But Judge Paderanga of the Regional Trial Court Branch 16 downgraded the charge to homicide, saying there were no sufficient evidence to prove two important elements of murder: treachery and premeditation.
Arsenio, 64, was meted a jail term of eight to 14 years and eight months in prison and was ordered to pay at least P237,500 to the heirs of the victim.
Arsenio declined to answer questions after the promulgation.
“I will not answer. I’ll let my lawyer do it,” he told the Inquirer as he was being escorted by jail guards out of the courtroom.
The court verdict was a bittersweet for Hinolan’s widow.
“We would have wanted the court to impose a heavier penalty, but 14 years in jail for him (Mayor Arsenio) is fine,” she said.
“At least justice was served for my husband, unlike other journalists who got killed but are still chasing justice until now. This is better than to wait for nothing,” she added.
The broadcaster was urinating by a wall near a carnival in the capital town of Kalibo, Aklan, on Nov. 13, 2004 when he was shot.
He managed to run but a man later identified by witnesses as Arsenio chased the victim and shot him several times.
The broadcaster suffered 10 gunshot wounds on the body.
Before he was killed, Hinolan criticized Arsenio because of his alleged involvement in illegal cockfights.