Maguan brod to cooperate in Go kidnap probe

MANILA, Philippines - The brother of convicted killer Rolito Go’s victim said yesterday he is willing to cooperate in the investigation of Go’s alleged kidnap from the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in August.

Eliot Maguan, a younger brother of victim Eldon Maguan, issued a statement after suspect Armando Mondero identified him as the man he saw talking to the kidnapping’s alleged financier, engineer Emilio Ortiz, when they were planning the crime.

He said their family is interested in finding the truth about “this new allegation. I am more than willing to cooperate with the government to achieve this end.”

Eliot said the allegations are “totally unbelievable, incredible and without logical basis.”

Go was convicted of killing Eldon in 1991 after a traffic altercation in Greenhills, San Juan. Eliot said that from the very start of the case, his family had followed the legal path. “And we have succeeded. Mr. Go is in prison serving the maximum sentence. He has been there for nearly 20 years,” he said.

Despite Go’s crime, Eliot said they did not oppose him when he sought the special privilege of medical treatment outside prison since 2010.

Go and his nephew were allegedly kidnapped by four men from the Ina ng Awa Parish Church at the minimum security compound of the NBP last Aug. 14.

Go’s lawyer, Claire Castro, said Mondero identified Eliot during a preliminary investigation hearing at the Department of Justice (DOJ) Monday. Mondero, who surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation last month, said he wants to be a state witness.