Prosecution wants suspect ‘admission’ as evidence

Private prosecutor Danilo Yap wants the homicide section of the Cebu City Police Office to produce extrajudicial confession of Lyndon Horandoy, suspect in the killing of prosecutor Patrick Osorio.

Yap made the manifestation during the hearing of the case yesterday. He said the extrajudicial confession bears the admission of the crime and can be used as evidence against Horandoy.

“I believe that the Homicide Section has a copy of extra-judicial confession,” Yap said.

He wants the court to subpoena SPO4 Alex Dacua, SPO4 Jay Iballe and Chief Inspector Romeo Santander, all of the homicide section.

But Horandoy’s lawyer Daryl Amante was quick to oppose. He said the extrajudicial confession cannot be admitted as evidence because it violates the Miranda Doctrine.

“He was tortured, he was alone when he made the confession and no private lawyer assisted him,” Amante said.

According to the law blog in jlp-law.com, “the Miranda doctrine requires that: (a) any person under custodial investigation has the right to remain silent; (b) anything he says can and will be used against him in a court of law; (c) he has the right to talk to an attorney before being questioned and to have his counsel present when being questioned; and (d) if he cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided before any questioning if he so desires.”

Amante also insisted that his client was not the gunman and was made as a fall guy.

“He is a fall guy, the police picked him up because his cousin, Arman Horandoy, was noted as gun-for-hire who already died,” Amante said.

Regional Trial Court Judge Silvestre Maamo directed Yap to put his request for subpoena into writing.

Also in yesterday’s hearing, to hasten the proceedings, Amante admitted the authenticity of the death certificate and other documents pertaining to Osorio’s death that the prosecution presented in court.

Osorio’s sister, Dr. Jamela Osorio-sanchez, was supposed to take the witness stand to testify on the authenticity of the documents to prove the fact of Osorio’s death, but Amante said he already went over the death certificate and the operation procedure and finds them real.

Horandoy and Allan Sinogat were accused of killing Osorio on January 6, 2009.

On March 7, 2012, the prosecution will present Sergio Abala Jr., the supposed eye witness in the shooting. — Mylen P. Manto/jmo