CEBU, Philippines — A retired military official and former regional director of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) was arrested by the operatives of National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) over his alleged involvement in the murder of Atty. Joey Luis Wee and the foiled assassination of another lawyer last year.
NBI-7 director Atty. Rennan Augustus Oliva identified the suspect as retired Lt. Col. Edwin Layese.
Layese, a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) “Bantay Laya” class of 1994 and former regional director of PDEA-6 and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), was arrested Wednesday, January 13, along Don Mariano Cui near Fuente Osmeña Circle in uptown Cebu City as part of the hot pursuit operation in connection with the killing of Wee.
He was driving his blue pick-up truck, which was subject of a search warrant from the court after it was identified as one of the vehicles used during the killing, when accosted by the NBI-7 operatives. An unregistered caliber .45 pistol was recovered from his vehicle during the arrest.
Fausto Edgar Benigno Peralta, who earlier confessed as the triggerman, tagged Layese as the mastermind. Peralta, also a former military man, was the first suspect in the Wee murder to be arrested by the NBI operatives during a hot pursuit operation in Cabuyao, Laguna on December 8, 2020.
According to Peralta, it was Layese who planned and hired them to kill Wee. An extra-judicial confession was already executed by Peralta in the presence of the representatives from Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Cebu City Chapter and the media.
In his 30-page judicial affidavit, Peralta said Layese contracted him through John Raymond Suarez and Randy Palparan to kill Wee and his wife, but a last-minute decision spared the wife. Allegedly, the contract price was P400,000. A down payment of P60,000 was given to him by Suarez in Cavite before coming to Cebu for the job.
Both Suarez and Palparan remain at large along with two others whose identities are yet to be ascertained. The NBI, however, have already filed charges in court against them.
Even before Peralta’s extra-judicial confession, Oliva said, they were already onto Layese because of the electronic and other pieces of evidence they have gathered against him.
According to Oliva, Peralta’s admission merely confirmed the pieces of evidence they have.
“Nisamot og ka kuan (strengthen) ang iyang involvement because ang mga personalities involved is mao ra, although ni execute og extra judicial si Peralta, his extra judicial confession only confirmed the evidence we gathered," Oliva explained.
(His involvement was strengthened because of the personalities involved, although an extra-judicial confession was executed by Peralta, but his confession only confirmed the evidence we gathered)
These include several CCTV footages of Layese meeting the other suspects and his vehicle’s presence in the area when Wee was shot dead.
Oliva said Layese was also tagged as the alleged mastermind in the October 10, 2020 ambush of Lawyer James Gupana in Barangay Pajac, Lapu-Lapu City. Gupana survived the attack.
According to Oliva, Layese was positively identified as the “supervisor” in both Wee and Gupana’s murder and frustrated murder cases, respectively.
"He (Layese) was the contractor, he was the one who was hired to do the execution and the planning, in fact, he was the one who got the shooters and other participants of the killing," Oliva said.
Layese’s lawyer refused to comment on the charges against his client.
“My client has the right to be proven innocent until proven otherwise, so as of this moment, we will not give any comment, we will face charges in due time," Atty. John Raphael Pelinggon told members of the media.
Oliva said they intend to file more charges against Layese in the days to come. Oliva also said that the hot pursuit operation against the remaining suspects continues.
"Two down, two identified, two on the first name bases, identified na nato tanan except sa mastermind," said Oliva.
Wee was shot dead on November 23, 2020 outside his office in Barangay Kasambagan, Cebu City. — FPL (FREEMAN)