Twelve years after the death of model and TV talent Julie Ann Rodelas, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court has finally set the promulgation of the murder case filed against three accused, one of whom was the victim’s friend.
The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption lamented that the court has reset the promulgation of judgment “thrice.”
In a Sept. 6 letter sent to the Supreme Court, lawyer Manuel Obedoza Jr. said “after almost 12 years of trial, Judge Lucero set the promulgation of judgment on July 12, 2024. Surprisingly, she postponed it on Aug. 23, 2024. We were again surprised when she AGAIN postponed the promulgation on Sept. 27, 2024. Officials and members of the VACC are worried with this actuation of the Judge.”
One of the heinous crimes being closely monitored by the VACC is the murder of Rodelas, he stressed.
Branch 223 Judge Caridad Walse-Lucero reset the original date of promulgation on July 12 to Aug. 23 due to a semi-annual inventory of cases.
She, however, reset anew the case resolution on Aug. 23 to Aug. 27 due to a caravan in Davao City. Saying she was on forfeitable leave on Aug. 27 she had to reset the judgment day to Sept. 27.
On Nov. 19, 2012, alleged masterminds Althea Altamirano and boyfriend Fernando Quiambao Jr. did not enter a plea, prompting the court to enter a plea of not guilty for them.
A third suspect, Jaymar Waradji who was considered a state witness, entered a not guilty plea. A fourth suspect, Gelen Pasawilan, was not then arraigned on charges of illegal possession of firearms due incomplete information on the charge sheet.
Rodelas, 20, was shot dead and pushed out of a Montero van (TWO-505) on 18th Avenue, Murphy, Quezon City on Nov. 6, 2012.
Altamirano, a model herself, told Quiambao, her boyfriend, that Rodelas was spreading rumors about her.
