DOJ indicts wife, lover in Enzo murder

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted businessman Domingo “Sandy” de Guzman III for the killing of international car racing champion Ferdinand “Enzo” Pastor.

The DOJ filed yesterday afternoon a murder case against De Guzman before the Quezon City regional trial court after preliminary investigation showed probable cause on the complaint filed by Pastor’s family.

The investigating panel led by Assistant State Prosecutor Susan Villanueva likewise approved the indictment of Pastor’s widow Dahlia for parricide.

In a 13-page resolution approved by Prosecutor General Claro Arellano, the DOJ cited “circumstances (that) lead to a reasonable inference of respondents Sandy and Dahlia’s probable participation in the crimes of murder and parricide, respectively.”

Both charges are non-bailable.

Prosecutors stressed that although there was no direct evidence showing direct participation in the killing, “there is interlocking circumstantial evidence that would point to their complicity in the commission of the crime.”

They cited the confession of gunman PO2 Edgar Angel, who was indicted in the murder case in August last year, pointing to De Guzman and Dahlia as masterminds of the killing.

Angel later recanted his statement, but the DOJ explained that his extra-judicial confession that he was contracted by the respondents to kill Pastor for P100,000 remained valid.

It held that such recantation could best be assessed during full-blown trial and not during the preliminary investigation.

The DOJ also pointed out that even before Angel’s confession, the housemaid of the Pastors, identified as Chona Domen, had executed an affidavit about the illicit affair of the respondents.

“This is motivation enough for them to hatch the plan to kill him... This is strengthened by PO2 Angel’s statement that the reason why he was contracted to kill Enzo was because the latter constantly beats his wife and that respondent Sandy wants to relieve her of this burden,” read the resolution.

Furthermore, the DOJ said Dahlia and De Guzman both made known their decision to pursue their plan when they met Angel at Pier 1 on June 11 last year and told him to proceed as planned the following day.

The preliminary investigation showed that De Guzman provided Angel with the means to kill Pastor while Dahlia supplied information on her husband’s whereabouts.

Likewise, the DOJ said Angel was instructed by De Guzman to kill Enzo’s father, Tomas, if he is with him.

“We take note of the fact that Tomas and his wife were at the house of Enzo and respondent Dahlia on that fateful night and that he had expressed his desire to accompany him to Clark Pampanga. Who could have supplied that vital information, if not respondent Dahlia who was with them at that time?” the DOJ pointed out.

Pastor’s parents, Tomas and Remy, immediately welcomed the development and went to the DOJ to personally get the copy of the resolution.

“We applaud the efforts of the DOJ in its pursuit of justice against the murderers of Ferdinand ‘Enzo’ Pastor. Let us continue to be vigilant that as the warrants of arrest are issued for Dahlia Guerrero-Pastor and Sandy de Guzman and the case enters our court system, that justice will be fair, swift and unrelenting,” they said in a text message.

“The Pastor family puts its trust in our authorities and the Philippine legal system to ensure that justice will prevail,” they added.

Pastor’s parents asked Dahlia “to surface and face the court at least for the sake of Enzo and the family and their children.”

The victim’s parents also appealed to the camp of Dahlia to return to them the custody of their two grandsons as well as the ashes of their son. – With Mike Frialde