A SOLON has looked into the status of the murder case filed against a former military colonel in connection with the 2017 killing of farmer Enrique Manas Sr. in Sta. Margarita, Samar.
In a letter addressed to the DOJ Secretary Fredderick A. Vida, Samar First District Congressman Stephen James T. Tan asked for clarification on the status of the DOJ proceedings involving accused Emilio Zosa’s motion for reconsideration (MR).
The MR seeks to set aside the DOJ’s January 2025 resolution recommending the filing of murder charges against Zosa and his co-accused Arturo Deborborn and Ricky Calagos.
Specifically, the solon asked the DOJ whether the MR has already been submitted for resolution or there are other remaining procedural requirements or submissions pending before the agency and whether the counsel representing the victims and the Manas family had been furnished a copy of the MR and given an opportunity to submit their comment, opposition or position.
Tan noted that the case had been pending through various stages of proceedings and review before the DOJ for several years, with nearly nine years having passed since the ambush.
Manas was gunned down in Barangay Bahay in Sta. Margarita town in 2017.
It may be recalled that on January 16, 2025, then Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla ordered the filing of murder charges against the accused after finding prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction.
The criminal information was received by the Regional Trial Court on March 19, 2026.
Zosa subsequently filed a an appeal before the DOJ.
Tan clarified that the inquiry was not intended to interfere with the DOJ’s independent evaluation of the case or suggest how the pending MR should be resolved.
‘The inquiry is prompted by the continuing concern of the victim’s family given the extraordinary length of time that the case has remained pending. The family endured nearly nine years of uncertainty since the death of Enrique Manas Sr.,’ the letter read.
‘They are not asking for special treatment or for the Department to prejudge the rights of any party, but simply seek to know where the case now stands and what procedural steps remain before the matter can proceed in accordance with law,’ it added.