Negros Occ town mayor denies son's link to cop slay

BACOLOD CITY , Philippines— La Castellana town Mayor Alberto Nicor had denied allegations linking his son to the killing of Iloilo policeman, SPO2 Rex de los Reyes at a beach resort in Hinigaran town of Negros Occidental last Sunday.

Nicor, in an interview with ABS-CBN Bacolod on Thursday, said the allegation that his son was the sixth suspect who managed to escape, was "not true," insisting that his son or his family has no affiliation either with the five arrested suspects or the victim himself.

The arrested suspects were Michael Jancilan and Roger Garilba of Iloilo City, Vicente Poleros and Eduardo Montaño of Escalante City, and Openiano Dolar Jr. of Kabankalan City.

"I don't know any of them," the mayor said, in response to reports that he allegedly helped the sixth suspect, who was allegedly his son, escaped and that he tried to intervene in the arrest of the five.

Nicor said the arresting team were from the La Castellana and Pontevedra Police stations, adding that it would be impossible for him to intervene because there were a lot of people at the time of the arrest.

The five suspects, on board a rented van, were caught in a traffic snarl at the highway in Brgy. Camandag of La Castellana, resulting in their arrest by pursuing policemen.

Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr., who earlier called for a "deeper investigation" into the case, the other day came to the defense of Nicor, dismissing the alleged involvement of the mayor's son.

"Those are just presumptions. It's hard to accuse a person when there's no evidence," said the governor about Nicor, who is his political ally. "It's very easy to destroy a person. What if he's not guilty? We'll just say sorry? The police must dig deeper."

Marañon, who met with the chiefs of police of the 31 towns and cities in the province yesterday, ordered them to improve the peace and order situation in the province. "Concentrate on drug problem and illegal gambling," he told them.

In a related development, the five suspects in the de los Reyes killing have tested positive for gunpowder nitrates, although the results of the ballistic tests on the firearms seized from the suspects have yet to be released by next week.

Chief Insp. Lino Dalisay, Hinigaran Police chief, said the five suspects yielded four .45-caliber pistols, a 9mm Glock 17 pistol, four grenades and hundreds of ammunition. They were transferred from the Hinigaran PNP detention cell to the BJMP jail in Binalbagan town, after reports came that the mastermind has plans of a break-in to set free the five.

Murder charges have been filed against the suspects before the Negros Occidental Provincial Prosecutor's Office. Additional charges for illegal possession of firearms and explosives will also be filed against them, said Dalisay.

Senior Supt. Milko Lirazan, Negros Occidental Police director, said policemen are still hunting down the so-called sixth suspect, who reportedly ran off with a black bag from the car of the victim right after the shooting, leaving only the five to get cornered by the authorities. He assured the public that there will be no cover-up in the investigation. "The bag may contain more evidence. We are coordinating with our counterparts in Iloilo. The victims and three of the suspects were from there," Lirazan said.  (FREEMAN)