‘Rosebud just a puppet’

Quoting his slain friend, Antonio Ma. Cabanban insisted yesterday that controversial undercover agent Mary "Rosebud" Ong is a "puppet" being manipulated by influential people.

In a statement, Cabanban claimed he merely reiterated what slain Chief Inspector John Campos had told him.

"John (Campos) has said Rosebud is not capable of hurting him in any way. He (Campos) claimed Rosebud was a puppet being manipulated by some people," Cabanban said in Filipino.

Cabanban, however, was not able to mention who were supposed manipulators of Ong.

But Leonard de Vera, Ong’s counsel took exception to Cabanban’s statements.

"The best proof is that she broke away from the group of then Chief PNP Panfilo Lacson and Gen. Reynaldo Wycoco at the height of their power. At that time, she was not placed under the Witness Protection Program, making her vulnerable to anyone who wanted to hurt her," De Vera said.

Cabanban’s lawyer, Efren Mercado, on the other hand, expressed his belief that his client could not be considered a suspect even if "she knows something."

Authorities said every major player in the crime can be considered a suspect, but apparently putting more weight on Cabanban who was with Campos before the killing.

Campos was personally handling Ong as an undercover agent in police drug sting operations before they become lovers.

As this developed, Ong made her first appearance yesterday before the Internal Affairs Service of the Philippine National Police (PNP-IAS) as one of the main witnesses in the administrative cases against high-ranking police officials.

Superintendent Elvis Talang, chief of the IAS prosecution division, said Ong issued her testimony on the alleged abduction of four Chinese last March 26, 1999 by agents of the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF).

Ong, along with fellow agent Remus Garganera, has accused former Region IV police director Reynaldo Acop, Superintendent Francisco Villaroman and Campos of masterminding the kidnapping and extortion of the four Chinese and the killing of two of them.

Ong also testified she was with the group of Campos when they abducted the four Chinese, namely Zeng Jia Xuan, Hong Zhen Qiao, Zeng Kang San and James Ong.

She also claimed witnessing the supposed payoff of ransom money amounting to P7 million.

She went on to claim Acop allegedly discussed on how to disposed of the four Chinese.

Two of the four were said to have been killed by the group of Villaroman on instructions of Acop. The other two remained missing.