JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla yesterday said the National Bureau of Investigation has identified several persons of interest in last Thursday’s murder of Abra lawyer Maria Saniata Liwliwa Gonzales Alzate.
“The NBI is already in the area, and we now have suspects. The NBI is leading the investigation, the charge on this investigation. They have combed through all available footage taken by closed-circuit television cameras. We have suspects,” Remulla said, although he declined to provide additional details due to the ongoing probe.
He said investigators are also in contact with the victim’s husband, former Abra Regional Trial Court Judge Raphiel Alzate.
“The most effective way to resolve crimes is by apprehending and prosecuting the suspects and holding them accountable,” Remulla added.
Alzate was gunned down by one of two men riding a motorcycle while she was inside her car in front of her residence on Santiago St. in Bangued, Abra.
She died due to multiple gunshot wounds at the Dr. Petronelo V. Seares Memorial Hospital.
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) and the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) have condemned her murder and called on authorities to exert all efforts to arrest the suspects and unmask the mastermind.
Alzate had served as president of the IBP chapter in Abra and once headed its legal aid committee.
She also played an active role in the election campaign in Abra of former Vice President Leni Robredo.
The NUPL said Alzate’s murder brings to three the number of lawyers killed under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., while 59 were killed during the Duterte administration.
PUBLIC HELP SOUGHT
The PNP yesterday appealed for public help in the ongoing probe into the killing of Alzate.
Capt. Ronaldo Eslabra, spokesman of the Abra provincial police office, said the Special Investigation Task Group Alzate is working round the clock to solve the murder case.
“We are still currently establishing the motive behind the killing of the attorney. As of now, a Special Investigation Task Group Alzate was already formed to solve this case,” said Eslabra in a radio interview.
Eslabra said initial efforts to establish the identities of the suspects have yielded negative results.
He said they had compared the images of the suspects to the town’s rogues’ gallery but failed to get a match.
He appealed to people who witnessed or have seen the suspects to come forward and help police investigators in solving the killing.
“We would like to take this opportunity to appeal. The PNP is appealing to the public to help us in solving this crime,” Eslabra said. “To our countrymen who witnessed or who saw the suspects, help us to identify (the suspects) and solve this crime.”
He said a policeman aboard a police car chased the fleeing suspects after the shooting incident but lost them due to traffic.
Eslabra said Alzate did not report any death threats.
“There’s none, unless she kept it (death threats) to herself,” said Eslabra.
Last Saturday, PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said the probe is proceeding well but did not elaborate. — With Victor Reyes
