May 30, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 24, 1429

MANILA: A librarian accused of stealing some of the Philippines’ most important historical documents walked free on Thursday after a 13-year trial, court officials said.

Judge Thelma Medina said prosecutors had failed to prove Maria Luisa Moral had deliberately removed hundreds of historical documents, books and other material from National Library, where she worked.

The National Library dismissed Moral in 1995 when state prosecutors filed charges of qualified theft against her.

Among the missing items were original letters by national hero Jose Rizal, who was executed by the Spanish colonial government in 1896, accused of stoking a revolution for independence.

Moral voluntarily turned over the letters to authorities in 1994, two years after she came under police investigation, saying her staff had transferred them to her office without her knowledge.

The judge said Moral’s actions were consistent with “human nature” and that prosecutors had failed to prove she intended to profit from them. Moral could not be reached for comment on Thursday.—AFP