NBI wants murder raps filed vs driver in lawyer’s killing

By Charlie Lagasca

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya - – The National Bureau of Investigation has recommended the filing of murder charges against the alleged driver of the gunman in the 2010 killing of a human rights lawyer here.

In its investigation report last March 6, the NBI district office here led by lawyer Bensheen Apolinar asked the provincial prosecutor’s office to file murder and obstruction of justice charges against Aries Valentin of Santiago City.

Valentin has been tagged as the alleged driver of the Bajaj motorcycle used by the gunman in the surveillance and subsequent killing of lawyer Ernesto Salunat in front of the municipal trial court in Solano town on June 22, 2010.

A former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Northern Luzon chapter, Salunat, 64, was the campaign manager of the Liberal Party here during the 2010 synchronized elections.

The NBI district office hopes that the filing of murder charges against Valentin would lead to the unmasking of the real gunman and the mastermind in the Salunat killing.

The NBI, however, cleared provincial jail guard Judy Celestino of any involvement in the killing. Celestino’s name cropped last year after a murder convict, Rommel Laciste, tagged him as the one who allegedly released him from jail to kill Salunat.    

Laciste had claimed being the gunman in the killing before investigators of the regional police in Tuguegarao City. He also tagged retired judge Jose Rosales of the regional trial court here as the one who allegedly hired him for P100,000 supposedly to kill Salunat. 

Laciste’s confession implicating Celestino and Rosales was extracted before he was turned over to the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in September last year.

Laciste, who hails from Isabela, was serving a life sentence for the 2006 killing of Concepcion Lumanglas, an assistant provincial probation officer, when he escaped from the NBP on Aug. 15 last year.

He alleged that he was kidnapped by unknown men hours after convicted road rage killer Rolito Go resurfaced from an overnight disappearance.

The prosecutor’s office, however, cleared Rosales last year of any involvement in the Salunat killing “for lack of probable cause,” citing NBI findings that Laciste never mentioned the retired judge in his confession, contrary to his claim in his first affidavit extracted at the regional police office. 

Laciste’s second affidavit was taken at the national penitentiary, the NBI said.

“Laciste emphasized that he did not mention the name of Judge Rosales and that he did not know how the name was stated in his confession. Worthy to note is the fact that Laciste is unable to read and write,” the NBI said. 

Laciste’s penchant for concocting lies, according to the NBI, was bolstered by an eyewitness in the killing of Salunat, who said that Laciste was not the triggerman.

“Laciste had the habit of implicating innocent persons in his crimes… he displayed deceitfulness as seen in the inconsistencies of his responses,” the NBI said.