NBI head denies linking vice guv's kin to case

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines  — Ferdinand Lavin, head of the NBI in this city, has denied saying he had linked a member of the family of Negros Occidental Vice Governor Genaro Alvarez Jr. to the killing of Kabankalan Regional Trial Court Judge Henry Arles.

“I would like to make it clear that I did not categorically state that it was the family of those being referred (to) now in several newspapers,” Lavin said in a radio interview.

“Honestly, I do not know who floated the good name of the family but insofar as the NBI is concerned, we are seriously considering that angle as we have seriously considered the other angles of equally powerful and influential clans in the south (of Negros Occidental),” he said.

“Wala akong binanggit na pangalan ng pamilya. Ang sinasabi ko ay our pieces of evidence so far lead to a powerful and influential clan in the south,” he said, this time adding that it was not just in the 6th district.

But in an interview at the Governor’s Office last Tuesday, Lavin was asked by reporters if it is true that the NBI is investigating the possible link of Alvarez’s family to the killing of Arles, and he replied: “If you are asking me about that, we are seriously looking into that angle.”

When asked to confirm again, he said, “Being considered, yes.” But the following day, Lavin said, “In my past interviews, I made it clear na may kinalaman dito, that’s where the evidence would lead us, yong isang powerful at influential clan in the south.”

“Ang make up pa na ginawa ng iba ay, when they say powerful and influential, they equate it to politics so naging political clan,” he said.

On Tuesday, Lavin had said they are “seriously looking into the angle” of the possible involvement of the vice governor’s family, “as against four other angles of the case,” although he clarified that it was “not exactly the vice governor.”

Lavin however refused to give details on the motive behind the killing, saying the NBI would not want to jeopardize the ongoing investigation or compromise the safety of the people and witnesses on the ground.”

There has been no definitive or conclusive statement yet about the case, he said adding that the motive behind the killing will just come out in their investigation.

Arles, who was gunned down April 24 in Ilog town.

Lavin said they based their theory on the court cases handled by Arles which the NBI is scrutinizing. The NBI is conducting a parallel investigation with the Task Group Arles, which was created by the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office.

Alvarez, for his part, had denied the allegation, saying he does not even know Arles. Alvarez said his family has no reason to be mad at Arles or to have him assassinated. The vice governor said the only reason is that it is “politically motivated.”

“Is this what happens after I am rumored to be running for governor?” Alvarez said, without elaborating. In the first place, I do not see any reason why we should be involved with that, he said, since his family has no case before Arles’s sala.

For the record, Alvarez said that when he was congressman, he gave a budget of P1.5 million for the repair of Arles’s courtroom. The 62-year-old Arles succumbed to three gunshot wounds, when he was shot with a .45 caliber pistol by the gunman who fled using a tricycle, in Ilog town last April 24.

Meanwhile, Lavin said he does not know any politician in Negros Occidental nor does he know the “political realignment” here, thus wherever their investigations would lead to, or if influential and political clans will be found involved in the crime, then they will file charges against them. “If that’s where the pieces of evidence would lead us, so be it,” he said.

Lavin stressed that so far they are investigating four clans or big families in southern Negros as may be involved in the killing of Arles. (FREEMAN)