Claims he can’t kill his own uncle, raps PNP of harassing him
A man accused by the police of murdering Tineg, Abra Councilor Pedro Enon on May 19, 2008 yielded on Thursday to Atty. Rachel Marfil Angeles of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), claimed he is innocent of the crime and accused the Abra police of filing the case to harass him as he is the star witness in the killing of Brenda Crisologo, wife of Tineg, Mayor Edwin Crisologo, in 2007.
Jomie Cabrera wrote NBI director Nestor Mantaring on Thursday to say that he is surrendering voluntary to the bureau through Angeles since he fears for his life once he is detained by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Abra.
Cabrera was the nephew of slain councilor.
“The PNP in Abra filed the case against me based on an investigation report which is not believed by members of the Enon family. The family doubts the veracity of the testimonies of the witnesses produced by the police who pointed to me as the gunman,” Cabrera told Mantaring.
“PNP Abra is determined to jail me and put me under their custody. I fear that something will happen to me while under their custody since I am the star witness in Criminal Case No. 2009-011 filed against Lenin Benwaren, et. al. for murder, which has been filed before Branch 2 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Bangued, Abra,” he added.
On the same day, Tineg, Abra Councilor Elesita Enon, the victim’s widow, also wrote Mantaring and told him PNP Abra “conducted their ‘investigation’ and wrote a ‘report’ only on the basis of statements given by two of their alleged witnesses, Jaworsky Ayaba and Jenny Calawagan, who both claimed that it was my husband’s nephew, Jomie Cabrera, who came to our house to shoot his uncle, my husband.”
The widow added: “I never filed a complaint with the PNP against Jomie Cabrera for the death of my husband since I firmly believe and know that he is not capable of killing my husband.”
Elesita Enon slammed the PNP in Abra for not bothering “to conduct a thorough investigation of my husband’s death despite our repeated demands, even up to the level of then PNP Director General Avelino Razon. It was deemed that a thorough investigation was necessary so as not to make Jomie Cabrera a fall guy just to suit the plans of certain powerful politicians in our province who are at odds with Mayor Edwin Crisologo, Sr. of Tineg, my late husband’s political ally and Jomie’s uncle.”
The widow, however, said that with the filing of the case against Cabrera and with the court acquiring jurisdiction over the case, it is now imperative “to protect the life of Jomie Cabrera, who is a star witness in the shooting of Mayor Crisologo’s wife, Brenda, on May 17, 2007 at the Holy Spirit Academy in Bangued, it is imperative that he be detained at a safe place where his life could be protected while his case is being resolved by the court.”
Enon lashed out at Chief Supt. Eugene Martin, former Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) PNP director and now PNP Intelligence Chief, since it was during his tenure that the case against Cabrera was firmed up. She accused Martin of being close to the accused in the murder of Brenda Crisologo.
She claimed that there was “undue haste” in the filing of the case against Cabrera, with the investigating prosecutor failing to acknowledge the counter-affidavit of Cabrera and his witnesses.
“His right to due process was definitely disregarded by both the prosecution and the police,” the widow said.
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