Bagwoman eyes gambling links in Mayor slay

MANILA, Philippines - Self-confessed jueteng bagwoman Sandra Cam said yesterday slain whistleblower Wilfredo “Boy” Mayor was still engaged in high-stakes gambling at the time of his death in an ambush in Pasay City on Feb. 25.

The revelation was contrary to Cam’s earlier pronouncement that Mayor was killed because he was about to expose anomalies in public works projects in Bicol.

Cam had said she would present evidence to prove that Mayor was killed over public works contracts in Bicol, but what she eventually presented were only bidding documents.

Cam stressed that Mayor could not have been killed due to jueteng activities, but admitted that he was into gambling such as cockfighting and casinos.

Police said one of the possible motives of Mayor’s murder was his multimillion-peso dealing with casino loan sharks in Metro Manila.

Mayor was last seen playing cards at the City Star Hotel and Casino in Pasay City in the company of a woman named Erlinda Yao, known as “Flower,” who is allegedly a gambling financier to whom Mayor owed at least P12 million.

Yao also reportedly finances cockfight aficionados.

Senior Superintendent Raul Petrasanta, who heads a special task force to investigate the murder, said investigators have been interviewing Yao about her relationship with Mayor. Police are also trying to determine the identities of other loan sharks who might have dealt with Mayor.

Police said Mayor’s killers apparently waited for Mayor outside the casino and followed him on his way home. Police theorized that somebody inside the casino might have informed the suspects of Mayor’s movements.

Petrasanta said they are wondering why Mayor’s companion during the ambush, Allan Benedict Castro, has not been coordinating with investigators.

Petrasanta said they have already talked to Mayor’s 26-year-old wife Cherry, who is a village councilor in Daraga, Albay, but she claims to know nothing about her husband’s business transactions. – Nestor Etolle