Hampered by the lack of witnesses in the murder of Commission on Elections (Comelec) legal department chief Alioden Dalaig, police investigators are now digging up the cases handled by the slain poll official to determine the motive for the killing and find the perpetrator.
Manila Police District (MPD) homicide investigators led by Chief Inspector Alejandro Yanquiling also revealed the probers would secure the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage of the Hyatt Hotel where Dalaig stayed before he was killed.
Dalaig was found slumped unconscious in front of the hotel in Ermita, Manila Saturday night.
Police said Dalaig, 64, succumbed to a bullet wound in the chest.
Investigators noted that no witnesses have surfaced to describe the gunman or narrate how Dalaig was fatally shot.
Yanquiling said they would have to focus on the motive for the killing to identify the gunman.
“(Dalaig’s) work was very sensitive since he handled and ruled on electoral protests. So this is among the focuses in our investigation. We will look into those cases and try to figure who could most likely have the motive to have him killed,” Yanquiling said.
Yanquiling said the only possible witness they have so far is a security guard of the hotel. The security guard was about 10 meters away from the spot where Dalaig was supposedly shot.
“He said he heard the gunshot and then saw Attorney Dalaig slumped at the other side of the road, but he did not see the killer,” Yanquiling said.
Apart from lack of vital eyewitness in the killing, Yanquiling admitted their investigation is being hampered by the lack of cooperation from Hyatt Hotel security.
“They were very uncooperative. (All) we wanted was to check on possible video footage recorded in their CCTVs so we could know if (Dalaig) had companions at that time. But they won’t allow us maybe because the private security agency of the hotel is being careful because a minor infraction in their security might cause them their contract,” Yanquiling said.
Investigators initially gathered Dalaig often played at the casino in the hotel.
Dalaig was reportedly carrying some P300,000 cash when he was killed after emerging from the hotel. Police, however, ruled robbery out as the possible motive of the killing since the money and personal belongings of the victim were intact following the attack.
Yanquiling said they would try to talk to each of the staff of the casino where Dalaig reportedly came from before the incident.
Yanquiling stressed their investigation would not only focus on work-related angles but other possibilities as well.
“There are a lot of other possibilities that we would look into. We will check with the casino, specifically financiers with whom he probably had financial issues with,” he said.
Police said they would also talk to jeepney drivers or some ambulant vendors who might have seen the incident.
Dalaig was killed in the busy intersection of M.H. Del Pilar and Pedro Gil streets during the rush hour traffic, yet no one saw the incident, police said.
MPD director Chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales said the lack of vital witnesses might hamper the investigation of the case.
So far, a 15-year-old boy discovered the lifeless body of Dalaig at the scene but did not witness the actual killing, Rosales said.
Since nobody would want to come out as a witness to the crime, Rosales said the investigators will have to revisit the crime scene and determine the people who were in the vicinity when the shooting occurred.
“We wanted to know who frequents the place and possibly confront him whether he saw the incident,” Rosales said.
“All I could say now is that we are gathering witnesses at the moment for our investigation to proceed,” he said.
Dalaig’s wife, Felomena, said the lawyer had received death threats five times prior to the attack. She failed to elaborate on the threats made to her husband.
Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said Dalaig had not mentioned receiving any death threat.
Asked if the motive may have had something to do with his work in Comelec, Jimenez pointed out Dalaig handled all the legal cases in the poll body, particularly those concerning election protests.
Yanquiling said the investigators will proceed to Comelec head office today to conduct the inquiry over Dalaig’s tasks and responsibilities at the poll body.
Finding the key
Lawmakers called on the Philippine National Police (PNP) to focus on the work of Dalaig to determine the motive for the killing.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the murder of Dalaig could have been work-related.
Pimentel noted Dalaig figured prominently in the filing of controversial cases against certain personalities in the last elections.
Dalaig is also a known friend of former Comelec commissioner Virgilio Garcillano and former Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol who were both accused of manipulating the 2004 and 2007 polls, respectively.
Dalaig recently signed the arrest order against Bedol who continued to evade arrest.
“There seems no other motive in Dalaig’s killing than being job related. As chief legal officer he recommended action on cases. Elections have become so rotten that people kill to get to public office,” Pimentel said.
There were already reports linking Bedol to the killing of Dalaig.
The news website of ABS-CBN reported yesterday that one of Dalaig’s relatives sent a text message, accusing Bedol of being behind the murder.
Yanquiling, however, said no one among the relatives have confirmed sending the text message pointing to Bedol as the killer.
Senators Loren Legarda and Panfilo Lacson, on the other hand, echoed the same sentiment over the need for police investigators to determine the motive of the killing.
Lacson, a former national police chief said there are indications the killing was work-related.
“It’s too early to speculate except for ruling out robbery as a possible motive. That would strongly suggest a work-related angle and the PNP must work double time to get to the bottom of the case,” Lacson said.
President Arroyo immediately ordered the PNP to “leave no stone unturned so that the perpetrators are brought to justice.”
The killing came in the heels of the controversy surrounding the creation of a screening committee to evaluate candidates for the new chairman and vacancies in Comelec.
Dalaig was among the nominees for the vacancies submitted by Malacañang to Comelec for comment.
His chance of bagging a post was believed preempted, however, by the appointment of Commissioner Moslemen Macarambon, a fellow Muslim.
Jimenez said Dalaig has been serving the Comelec for 30 years and was on his way to retirement.
Jimenez described Dalaig as a person with a “sunny disposition.”
Dalaig’s body was flown to Iligan City where he was to be given a Muslim funeral. -With Non Alquitran, Christina Mendez