Chika slay suspect ‘silenced’ by cops?

The mother of slain Victor Macaldo will seek the help of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate if the alleged self-confessed killer of former Manila Councilor Chika Go was "silenced" to stop him from telling the truth.

Rosita Macaldo said she would visit NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco to personally ask for help to get justice for the death of her son, who was shot dead in what the police said was an attempt to escape on Oct. 7.

"Hihingi kami ng tulong sa NBI, wala na kaming tiwala sa pulis (We’ll ask for NBI’s help, we have lost our trust in the police)," said the 56-year-old mother.

Rosita insisted that her son did not kill Go and never tried to escape from his three police escorts who were supposed to bring him to his arraignment at Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 19 for illegal possession of firearms.

A day before he was killed, Macaldo even told his mother that he was tortured into admitting that he killed Go on Aug. 10 in Binondo. Aside from being tortured, policemen even threatened to kill Macaldo’s wife and daughter if he did not admit that he killed Go, Rosita said.

Also according to Rosita, Macaldo was collared in Bacoor, Cavite on Aug. 31 contrary to the police’s claim that he was nabbed inside a fastfood restaurant in Tayuman, Manila on Sept.1.

The mother also lambasted Western Police District director Senior Superintendent Pedro Bulaong for promising to look after her son while he was detained at the WPD jail, but Macaldo ended up dead in the hands of his men.

"NBI na lang ang pag-asa namin, sana matulungan nila kami (The NBI is our only hope. We hope they can help us)," she stressed.

However, investigators said they could not believe the version of Rosita because it remains unsupported, "while there are witnesses who corroborated the version of the police that motorcycle-riding men fired at the semi-stainless owner-type jeep of lawmen."