MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the murder of a Malabon resident reported to be a “witness” in the killing of teenager Jerhode “Jemboy” Baltazar in a police operation last month.
Daniel Soria, 20, “the witness in Jemboy’s case was killed by riding-in-tandem assailants. The NBI is already there. We have sent the NBI to investigate the case,” Remulla said in Filipino during a dzRH interview yesterday.
Soria lived on the other side of the river near Baltazar’s house. He and Baltazar were acquaintances who used to play basketball together.
According to Soria’s partner, the victim went out on the night of Sept. 2 to drink with his friends. Soria, accompanied by Reynaldo Bolivar, was then supposed to meet a woman he had been in contact with on Facebook Messenger.
Bolivar was reportedly the suspect being pursued by Navotas policemen who shot and killed Baltazar on Aug. 2.
Soria was attacked as he was still chatting online with the woman he was supposed to meet. He was seen in closed-circuit television footage running away from his assailants. In another video, he could also be seen limping after being shot in the leg.
The assailants reportedly stole Soria’s phone and then sent a text message to his partner to inform her that Soria had died.
Malabon police chief Col. Jay Baybayan earlier denied that the deaths of Soria and Baltazar were linked.
He said three sachets of unspecified drugs were found on Soria’s person by crime scene investigators.
Soria was also previously charged with frustrated homicide and grave threats with firearms, Baybayan said, adding that investigators are looking into the cases to determine the motive for Soria’s murder.