Enzo’s parents seek protection for 3 witnesses

MANILA, Philippines -  The parents of international racing champion Ferdinand “Enzo” Pastor sought protection yesterday for three witnesses in their murder charge against his widow, Daliah, and her alleged lover, businessman Domingo “Sandy” de Guzman.

Tomas and Remy Pastor formally asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to cover Paolo Salazar, Alvin Nidua and Chona Domen under its witness protection program (WPP). 

“We are here to request for protection of our witnesses. They have received threats,” Tomas said in an interview with reporters.

Last Wednesday, the parents of Pastors submitted to the DOJ affidavits of the three witnesses to counter the retraction made by Police Officer 2 Edgar Angel. 

Salazar, a companion of Pastor who survived the attack, identified the policeman as gunman. 

Nidua, on the other hand, is a supposed gun-for-hire who was first offered the job to kill Pastor. He claimed the offer was made by Borbie Rivera, reportedly a barangay chairman of Tramo, Pasay City, and a certain Inspector Oco. 

He alleged that Rivera and Oco were tapped by De Guzman.

“The wife of Enzo Pastor was supposedly the mistress of Sandy de Guzman and Enzo learned about it and he was very angry. But Sandy de Guzman learned of his plan to kill him,” he said in his affidavit. 

Lastly, Domen claimed she often saw De Guzman in their house when Enzo was out of the country. She said he would stay with Daliah in one of the rooms in the house. 

She said she reported the incidents to Pastor, who then confronted his wife but the latter denied the allegation. 

During the confrontation, Pastor smashed several pieces of furniture, which prompted Daliah to call her parents. That same day, she said Daliah’s parents arrived and confronted Pastor, Domen said. 

Meanwhile, Pastor’s parents said they are hoping that their daughter-in-law would surface in the DOJ’s preliminary investigation. 

“We wanted to know if she’s still in the country, and we were told she is. We are hoping she can attend the hearings,” Tomas said.

Tomas also said that while he respects the belief of Daliah’s father, Xavier, that she was innocent, he said it would be best to wait for the results of the DOJ probe.