Guard, agency owner face raps for US diver’s slay

MANILA, Philippines - A security guard accused of killing technical diver Matthew Caldwell, who helped search for the body of the late interior secretary Jesse Robredo, will soon be charged with murder, an official said yesterday.

Senior Superintendent Adolfo Samala, Las Piñas City police chief, said investigators are coordinating with private lawyers to file charges against security guard Ericson Blacquio of the South Star Security Agency. Blacquio remains at large and the security agency’s alleged owner, Jordan Mijares, has gone into hiding, Samala said, adding that the agency officially ceased operating in 2011. He said the agency’s office in Baclaran was closed when police officers checked.

“The owner of the agency will be facing a string of criminal charges,” Samala told The STAR.

According to investigators, Caldwell, 59, and his partner, Jeanalyn Flora, drove up to the gate of Hamilton Heights Subdivision, where they live, at around 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 15.

Blacquio refused to raise the barrier at the subdivision gate because the homeowners’ association ruled that those who have unpaid dues should open the gate themselves, according to Samala.

When Caldwell tried to raise the boom, Blacquio reportedly shot the American in the face with his service 12-gauge shotgun. The guard fled, together with a still unidentified companion.

Chief Inspector Giovanni Martinez of the city police’s criminal investigation division said they were able to talk to Mijares but they lost contact when the alleged security agency owner shut off his cell phone.

He said the homeowners’ association hired the security agency after finding its contact details on the Internet. The association’s officials had no idea they were dealing with a fly-by-night agency, Martinez said.