Ambushed Abra fiscal denies corruption rap

BANGUED, Abra — Ambushed Abra prosecutor Rodor Gayao denied Gov. Vicente Valera’s charge of "wholesale corruption" in the province’s judicial system but welcomed the governor’s proposal for an inventory of cases disposed of in Abra.

"I deny it," Gayao told The STAR in a phone interview the other day.

"The (congestion) at the Abra provincial jail is testimony to the numerous unbailable murder cases that were filed in court," said Gayao who, along with three bodyguards, survived an ambush last Thursday in Peñarrubia town.

Valera earlier claimed that the perpetrators could be litigants who were disgruntled with the way criminal cases were being disposed of in Abra.

"It is of public knowledge that justice is for sale in the province," the governor said.

But Gayao said, "We welcome the call to conduct an inventory of cases handled in court and in the prosecution service."

He said the supposed "disgruntled" parties could actually be suspects in murder cases against whom the provincial prosecutor’s office had applied the full force of the law.

Gayao did not name names but said these people are "still free and roaming around (after having) appealed our resolution charging them with capital offense."

He added: "(They) should not resort to extra-legal remedies or even political pressures and threats to cover up their heinous deeds."

Meanwhile, Gayao said his suspension by then Justice Secretary Franklin Drilon was "political in character." He, however, refused to elaborate.

Valera had claimed that Gayao was suspended for "unsatisfactory performance."

The 59-year-old fiscal admitted he parted ways with Valera in 1998 after more than a decade of being close allies. He would not say what triggered their falling apart.

In a statement faxed to The STAR, Gayao charged that "the people who placed a bounty on our heads have the capability and means to mount the operation."

He said Valera’s corruption charge came at a time when the police investigation into the ambush has confirmed leads on the vehicle that unloaded four masked men in camouflage uniform at the ambush site at Ressang Pass.

He said another vehicle, a red Renegade, was parked in the vicinity of the crime scene near the entry road to Barangay Lusuac.

"What is needed is to allow the police to do their duty unhampered by outside pressure," he said.

Gayao said Valera’s accusation "could divert the focus of attention and even send the wrong signal to the joint investigating team."