The Philippines: A Matter of Self-Incrimination

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Was General Fabian Ver, armed forces Chief of Staff and cousin of Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, involved in a conspiracy to kill exiled Opposition Leader Benigno Aquino? For the past six months, state prosecutors in Manila have tried to prove that charge as part of their case against 26 men who are accused in connection with the assassination of Aquino on Aug. 21, 1983, as he descended from a China Airlines plane at Manila International Airport. Last week the prosecutors ran into a formidable obstacle: in a five-page ruling, the three justices conducting the trial threw out the major evidence against Ver and seven of his military colleagues. Most of that evidence was based on the defendants' testimony in April 1984 before a civilian fact-finding panel known as the Agrava board.

The testimony, the justices ruled, violated the defendants' constitutional protections against self-incrimination. If allowed to stand, the decision would deal a fatal blow to the prosecution. To many it was seen as leading to Ver's acquittal. Ver's lawyer, Antonio Coronel, said that he intends to move for dismissal of the charges, declaring that "you don't defend yourself against nothing." A possible appeal by the prosecution is under study.