MANILA, Philippines - How vital is Jimmy Lopez as a prosecution witness?
While it is true that he saw publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito before they were murdered, Lopez was not a witness to the actual killing.
Lopez, who was murdered Wednesday, or a day when he was about to take the witness stand on the double murder case, may not appear as a vital witness to the prosecution.
His testimony that Dacer and Corbito were garroted and their bodies burned relied mainly on what he overheard from the conversation of suspects Senior Police Officer 3 Jose Escalante, SPO4 Marino Soberano and Crisostomo Purificacion, who all supposedly were at the scene of the crime.
A more detailed and eyewitness account was given by Alex Diloy.
Diloy submitted a sworn statement before Prosecutor Geronimo Sy of the Department of Justice (DOJ) detailing how he actually witnessed the killing of Dacer and Corbito.
Diloy recalled seeing Lopez, Escalante, Digo de Pedro and Mauro Torres, all operatives of the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) having a drinking session at the garage of a certain William Lopez in Barangay Buna Lajos 1, in Indang, Cavite.
Diloy said the group was joined by Jovencio Malabanan, Margarito Cueno, Renato Malabanan, and a certain Rommel.
Diloy said the group finished their drinking and proceeded to a nearby ilat, or a swampy area near the neighborhood where they gathered firewood and old tires.
Jimmy Lopez begged off from the group, who according to Diloy, couldn’t walk straight due to a handicap.
Diloy said the group gathered a large amount of firewood and old tires waist high which they piled up to make a large bonfire.
William, Digo and Rommel left and returned 30 minutes later with Dacer and Corbito.
According to Diloy, he saw Dacer in his last minutes. He described the publicist dressed in all white clothes, while Corbito stood two meters away.
Diloy said he fetched Dacer by the arm and handed him over to William Lopez who took the publicist to the bottom of the ilat.
Diloy said William Lopez, De Pedro, Mauro Torres were at the scene. He claimed seeing the two victims already face down in the mud.
Diloy narrated seeing Digo holding a long strand of electrical wire tied to a metal rod about six inches long.
Digo then sat on the back of Dacer and wrapped the electric cord around the victim’s neck, according to Diloy.
Digo used the steel rod to twist the cord to tighten the noose on Dacer’s neck, he said.
Diloy recalled seeing Dacer gasping for breath as the noose tightened around his neck.
Digo then handed over the garrote to Lopez and used it in killing Corbito, he said.
Mauro Torres and Escalante then poured gasoline on the firewood and the tires to create a bonfire.
Digo and William then placed the lifeless bodies of Dacer and Corbito on top of the heap while Mauro hurled a lighted piece of coconut husk on the pile which quickly ignited into a big fire.
After about 30 minutes, they all left the place, according to Diloy, leaving the funeral pyre still ablaze.
In his affidavit, Diloy stated all these happened around eight in the evening.
Diloy’s statement had pointed out the suspects were all members of PAOCTF’s Task Force Visayas, then headed by Superintendent Teofilo Viña, who has since been murdered.