A Manila court has acquitted Reina Mae Nasino and two other political detainees Alma Moran and Ram Bautista nearly four years after being arrested.
The court granted demurrer to evidence, which means that the cases against Nasino and two others are already dismissed.
The court order states that the pieces of evidence were not presented in the court, and that the photographs cannot fill the full “evidentiary need” of the prosecution.
“The pieces of seized evidence were neither marked nor identified in this Court. To prove their very existence, the prosecution heavily relied on the photographs taken by P/Cpl. Jacinto.”
Another factor for the court’s decision was the inconsistent messages of prosecution witnesses where the firearms, ammunition and explosives were found. They added that the main witnesses were not presented in court.
Only photographs of the seized firearms were presented in the court, and not the firearms itself.
“For mere photographs might not fill in fully the evidentiary need of the Prosecution. Concededly, there is no evidence to speak of being the core of the offenses charged,” the court order added.
The same court granted them their release order last December 2022, due to weak evidence.
The local barangay chairman and the policeman who were tasked to do the photographs failed to identify the accused wherein the firearms were recovered.
Reina Mae Nasino gave birth in 2020 while being detained. With Baby River only weighing 5.5 pounds and being separated immediately from her mother, she died before reuniting with her mother again.
Nasino’s acquittal came nearly three years after Baby River’s death.