NBI deputy chief ambushed in Manila

MANILA, Philippines - National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) deputy director Reynaldo Esmeralda survived an ambush at- tempt last night in Manila.

Esmeralda just left their headquar- ters on Taft Avenue at around 7 p.m. along with his brother and driver when gunmen riding a motorcycle shot at their vehicle along Apacible street in Paco.

A bullet grazed Esmeralda's head and he was brought to the Manila Doctor’s Hospital for treatment. Jus- tice Secretary Leila de Lima made the announcement after receiving a phone call from Esmeralda from the hospital.

“He immediately called me and warned me to keep safe because of what had just happened to him,” she told The STAR by phone. De Lima said Esmeralda’s brother and driver were also hit by bullets and brought to the same hospital for treatment. The DOJ chief said she would definitely order an investigation into the incident. She refused to speculate on the motive for the attack, but cited persistent threats recently received by her and other DOJ officials who were involved in the earlier investi- gation against dismissed NBI director Magtanggol Gatdula. De Lima admitted receiving

threatening text messages about two to three weeks ago. She said Under- secretary Francisco Baraan III and Assistant Secretary Zabedin Asis also received the same messages, which contained the names of their respective loved ones.

She said Baraan has been affected by the threat. She said he increased the number of his security aides and has also not been showing up in the DOJ office. “We have cred- ible informa- tion as to the source of those threats, but I cannot disclose it at this point,” she said.

“It’s too early to con- clude if the attack on Esmeralda and the threats against us are related. But what it clearly shows is that there is really a threat,” she said.

Esmeralda, a top contender for the NBI's top post, reportedly had a power struggle with Gatdula, sources said.

Though he was neither part of the DOJ's fact-finding panel nor a witness, Esmeralda accompanied a columnist who wrote about the Ohara case to a closed-door hearing presided by Baraan.

There are reports that Esmeralda was the one who tipped off the col- umnist on Ohara's case.

Gatdula’s lawyer, Abraham Espejo, told The STAR that De Lima should stop linking his client to the ambush.

“It’s totally unfair for De Lima to point an accusing finger at Gat- dula. While she does not make any categorical statements, she seems to imply that my client... has a hand in the ambush. She should shut up and not use Gatdula to further her politi- cal ambition,” he said.

He added that “they want to paint a bad picture. From kidnapper to as- sassin. Please stop accusing Gatdula.