Manila’s chief fiscal slain

MANILA, Philippines — The city of Manila’s chief inquest prosecutor was killed in an ambush in Paco yesterday morning.

Jovencio Senados, 62, a resident of Calamba, Laguna, was on his way to the Manila city hall when a black sport utility vehicle (license plate ABG-8133) overtook his red Toyota Yaris on its right side along Quirino Avenue. The SUV’s occupants shot at him repeatedly just as they were crossing Anakbayan street at around 11:05 a.m.

Senados, 62, who was seated in the front passenger seat, died from multiple gunshot wounds in the head. His driver, Felgie Baves, was unscathed.

Baves said he did not know they were being followed.

The attack and the assailants’ subsequent escape toward Roxas Boulevard were caught on closed-circuit television footage.

The Manila Police District (MPD) has created a special task force group to look into the ambush on Senados.

“This is not an ordinary killing. The victim is the city chief prosecutor and we need to look into every possible angle. That is why I have ordered my deputy to immediately activate the task group,” MPD director Brig. General Rolando Miranda told The STAR.

Capt. Henry Navarro, MPD homicide section chief, said they are looking into the possibility that at least two cars were used in the attack: a red sedan that blocked Senados’ car to slow him down and the black SUV used by the gunmen.

Crime scene investigators recovered four bullet casings from a long firearm.

Navarro said it is possible that the killing was “job-related, but we are not going to leave any stone unturned and will look at all angles.”

He said they would look into the cases Senados handled.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to probe Senados’ “horrible murder.”

“We are shocked by the audacity of this attack. It highlights once again the grave peril that our prosecutors face each day in the discharge of their duties. I have ordered the NBI to immediately step in and investigate this horrible murder,” said Guevarra. Evelyn Macairan