Prosecution Names Aquino ‘Triggerman’

Prosecutors charged for the first time Friday that constable Rogelio Moreno was the “triggerman” in the killing of opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino Jr. on Aug. 21, 1983.

In a 90-page summary memorandum, the prosecution also asked for conviction of Gen. Fabian C. Ver, the armed forces chief, and 25 others charged in connection with the killing.

A three-judge panel now has up to 90 days to reach a unanimous verdict in the case against Ver, 24 other soldiers and one civilian after a seven-month trial that ended Sept. 26.

Prosecutors said Moreno shot Aquino at close range in the back of the head as soldiers escorted the opposition leader off a plane at Manila airport. Aquino was returning to the Philippines after three years of exile in the United States.

The prosecutors said their conclusion that Moreno killed Aquino was based on the testimony of Rebecca Quijano, a passenger on the plane that returned Aquino to Manila. During the trial, she said she witnessed the shooting but saw only the outstretched arm of the gunman, who she said was wearing the khaki uniform of the Philippine Constabulary Metropolitan Command in Manila, known as Metrocom. Moreno, 34, was a Metrocom constable assigned to Aquino’s five-man security detail.

“As there was no other soldier dressed in Metrocom uniform immediately behind Sen. Aquino at the time except Moreno, the only logical conclusion is that Moreno was the triggerman,” the memorandum said.

The prosecution memorandum said tests indicating that Moreno had traces of gunpowder on both hands provided proof that “he fired a gun on Aug. 21, 1983.”

Moreno, who took the stand in his own defense last month, denied he shot Aquino and said the gunpowder burns on his hands had come from target practice a day before the assassination.

Prosecutor Leonardo Tamayo told reporters that the prosecution adopted virtually the entire report of a civilian fact-finding board that investigated the assassination.

The board had said the gunman could have been either Moreno ar an air force sergeant.

The military contends that Rolando Galman, an alleged communist agent, shot Aquino. Soldiers killed Galman immediately after Aquino fell.

The prosecution said Galman was a “decoy assassin.”

Attorney Rodolfo Jimenez, counsel for 21 of the 25 soldiers and the civilian defendant, filed a 260-page memorandum Friday asking for acquittal on the grounds of lack of evidence.