Lawyer who survived ambush to go after suspects

CEBU, Philippines - Former city administrator lawyer Briccio Boholst yesterday vowed to file charges against those who were behind last Thursday’s ambush which wounded him and his staff and killed his law partner.

Boholst during an interview in his hospital bed at the UC Medical Center said they will file charges once they have gathered pieces of evidence related to the ambush that killed lawyer  Amelie “Am-am” Ocañada-Alegre.

Boholst believed in the theory of the police that personal motives were behind the ambush Thursday night in Barangay Looc, Mandaue City that also wounded him and their staff Anthony Pino.

He said it was not the first time that they were tailed because in 2013, their group was also a target of surveillance.

“2013 pa lang daan naa na’y surveillance, tuyo nga birahan mi,” said Boholst.

This was, however, stopped after they reported the incident to the National Bureau of Investigation.

Boholst also confirmed yesterday the allegations raised by the mother of Alegre that the death of her daughter may have something to do with her legal battle with her husband Ryan.

In 2012, Boholst said, Alegre filed a legal separation case against her husband over his illicit love affairs and he was one of the lawyers. Ryan, in return, filed an annulment case against Alegre.

Boholst said the other theory the police are also following was in relation to a dismissed worker who allegedly threatened Alegre.

“Nihulga man sad gud ‘to ug miingon nga mobawos g’yud ko ani,” added Boholst.

The said male worker was terminated by Alegre after he allegedly stole a client’s phone where pieces of evidence were stored.

Meanwhile, based on the account of events, the police’s theory also jived with Boholst’s that the suspects were already tailing them after they left their office in Barangay Tipolo, Mandaue City.

He said that he boarded Alegre’s car because his dri-ver just dropped him at the firm as his car was being used by his sister who had just arrived from the United States.

Boholst said that he could not really describe the gunman as he was sleeping at the backseat of Alegre’s car.

He was only able to wake up when he felt that his left thigh was already feeling numb.

“Unya nakadungog pa gani ko ni Amelie nga niingon nga ‘patay, igo ko’ unya nadunggan na dayon nako siya nga nag-agulo sa kasakit ug nahunong ang sakyanan,” Boholst recounted.

He said he tried waking Alegre up but since the latter was no longer responding, he started to accelerate the car for several meters and stopped at a carenderia.

He said after the car was stopped, he and Pino did not immediately come out of the car. He said it was only the people outside who convinced them to disembark.

“Didto ra sad ko karenderya naglingkod kay confused lagi ko unsa’y buhaton. Nagpapalit pa man gani ko og sigarilyo, apan diha na ko nanawag og tabang sa akong cellphone, nga naghangos na si Thanya (referring to Anthony Pino)  kay di na siya ma kaginhawa,” he continued.

Boholst and Pino were rushed to the Cortes General Hospital and were later transferred to the UC Medical Center at the North Reclamation Area.

Senior Police Officer 2 Marcos Noval Jr., the investigator of the case, said they have already turned over all the gadgets that were gathered at the crime scene to the Criminal Investigation Detection Group-7.

These include the cellphone, laptop and Ipad owned by Alegre and Pino’s cellphone and laptop.

He said they hope to find clues that will lead to the suspects.

Noval said they will get the footage of the closed-circuit television cameras installed in the areas where Alegre’s car passed by before the ambush took place for them to get the descriptions of the two assailants.

The assailants, who were on board a black motorcycle, both wearing black sweats and full-faced helmets, were believed to be professional guns-for-hire.

Boholst is now in stable condition and will be out of the hospital today while Pino, who sustained five gunshot wounds, will remain.  (FREEMAN)