Jailed man admits role in vice mayor killing; tags others

CEBU, Philippines -  Bugged by his conscience, a detained man finally admitted to involvement in the killing of Vice Mayor Abel Martinez of Mambusao, Capiz on May 4 last year, but named his friend, a military intelligence officer and a mayoralty candidate of the town among his cohorts.

Roger “Ian” Loredo, a 33-year-old detainee of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Pototan, Iloilo, voluntarily admitted in an affidavit dated Dec. 20, 2012 his participation in the Martinez slay.

“He was very remorseful. Sabi niya, kung mamatay man siya, at least nakatulong siya sa paglabas ng katotohanan,” said Sr. Supt. Domingo Cabillan, Capiz Police chief.

In Loredo’s affidavit, he also named Engr. Leodegario Labao Jr., a mayoralty candidate of Mambusao town, the alleged mastermind of the killing. They were allegedly hired to Martinez for P150,000. Of the amount, he received his P40,000 share, he claimed.

Loredo also tagged S/Sgt. Rommel Pamotillo, an intelligence officer assigned at a unit of the 3rd Infantry Division, as the person who allegedly contacted them to carry out the assassination plot.

“Apparently, nagalit daw si Engr. Labao kay Vice Mayor Martinez dahil dini-denounce yung mga proyekto niya katulad ng construction ng public market sa Mambusao,” Cabillan said to the media.

In the affidavit, Loredo further named his friend, Gilbie Principe, as the triggerman while he acted as the driver of their getaway motorcycle. But as fate would have it, Principe was killed by his own grenade on October 13, 2012 in del Carmen St., Jaro, Iloilo City while being pursued by policemen after he fled a checkpoint.

Loredo, of Brgy. Dalid in Calinog, Iloilo, was arrested and detained for a different crime. Police got hold of him after his own grenade exploded and injured him last July 15, 2012, or more than two months after the Martinez killing.

Loredo, who lost his left hand as a result of the explosion, was supposed to hurl the grenade at his neighbor’s house when he heard a child cry. He aborted the plan immediately but the grenade exploded in his hand. 

Cabillan said that, with Loredo’s statement, the police now have a strong case to pursue the charges.

Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz, director of the Police Regional Office-6, said that it would corroborate the police’s earlier information surrounding Martinez’s assassination. They would also work for Loredo to be put under the witness protection program, he added.  (FREEMAN)