DOJ to NBI: Probe killing of Masbate vice mayor

MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to step in and probe the death of Batuan, Masbate Vice Mayor Charlie Yuson III, nine days after the latter was killed in Manila.

Guevarra issued a one-page department order dated Oct. 18 authorizing NBI director Dante Gierran to conduct an investigation on the death of Yuson.

“The NBI, through director Dante Gierran, is hereby directed and granted authority to conduct an investigation and case build-up on the killing of Vice Mayor Charlie Yuson III of Batuan, Masbate on Oct. 9, 2019 in Sampaloc, Manila, and, if evidence warrants, to file the appropriate charges against persons found responsible therefore,” Guevarra said.

The justice secretary also instructed the NBI to keep him informed about the developments in its investigation.

“Further, director Gierran is directed to submit reports on the progress of the subject investigation and case build-up directly to the Office of the Secretary,” he added.

At 8:45 a.m. on Oct. 9, the vice mayor visited his brother Charlie Yuson Jr., who is a barangay chairman in Manila.

The vice mayor was having breakfast at a canteen along Vicente Cruz street in Sampaloc, Manila when unidentified armed men alighted from a van and fired shots at them.

The vice mayor was killed while two of his companions, Wilfredo Pineda and Alberto Alforte, were wounded.

The victims were brought to the nearby University of Santo Tomas Hospital for immediate medical treatment.

The police arrested four persons in connection with the ambush of Yuson but were soon ordered released by a Manila city prosecutor.

Lalaine Yuson, the widow of the slain vice mayor, had asked President Duterte and Sen. Ronald dela Rosa to conduct a Senate inquiry into the killing of her husband.