Court orders continued detention of 3 in slay of Agusan mining exec
Lawyer Rommel Fontanilla, counsel of Mrs, Evelyn Afdal, widow of the late Col. Samuel Afdal, explains a point during a press briefing on Friday in Davao City. RICARDO NIÑAL, PNA
PROSPERIDAD, AGUSAN DEL SUR – A court in Quezon City has ordered the continued detention of three suspects in the killing of retired Col. Samuel Afdal while the trial of their case is ongoing.
The order was contained in a resolution dated January 10, 2025, a copy of which was shown to the Inquirer on Thursday by lawyers of Afdal’s widow, Evelyn.
READ: Alleged brains behind Agusan mining exec’s slay falls
In the resolution, Judge Juris Dilinila-Callanta of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 85, denied the petition to post bail of murder suspects Ryan Mark Baylon, Rosalino Degracia and Alemar Awado, as the evidence presented by the prosecution, so far, showed that the guilt of the accused is strong.
The circumstances narrated by prosecution witnesses during their testimony before the court, according to Callanta’s resolution, “would establish that accused Baylon, Degracia and Awado are probably guilty of the offense charged.”
Article continues after this advertisementAfdal, owner of Rosario Manobo Mining Corp., survived an ambush on Oct. 26, 2021 while driving on an uphill bend toward the company’s base camp in Rosario, Agusan del Sur. He died on Nov. 15, 2021, while undergoing treatment in a hospital in Davao City.
Article continues after this advertisementA fourth suspect, former New People’s Army (NPA) rebel Jeffrey Mamerto, had confessed to pulling the trigger against Afdal, and pointed to Baylon as the killing’s alleged mastermind who offered Degracia and Awado P200,000 for the hit job, and telling him about a good location to ambush the former soldier.
Mamerto further confessed to have been paid P50,000 by Degracia and Awado, who were his former NPA comrades.
“Apparently, accused Baylon’s inducement and command with a promise of reward or monetary consideration facilitated the commission of the crime of murder,” Callanta’s resolution said.
The Afdal family, in a press conference in Davao City on Friday, welcomed the decision of the court to keep Baylon, Degracia and Awado in jail as they face trial.
“It is only fitting for the three accused, especially the mastermind, who has a propensity to evade justice, to be locked in detention while trial is underway, to ensure the speedy resolution of the case,” the Afdal family said in a statement.
Baylon was arrested on July 1 last year, in Kibawe, Bukidnon, after almost three months of hiding since a warrant was issued against him. He is currently detained at the Quezon City jail, along with Degracia, while Awado is in a jail in Bislig City where he is being tried for another murder case.
Mamerto is serving a 10-year sentence at Davao Penal Colony after his conviction on November 15, 2023, for the lesser offense of homicide in a plea bargaining deal with the prosecution.
From Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur, the case has been heard in Quezon City since April last year following a Supreme Court order for its transfer, upon the prosecution’s request.
