Cop: Witness claims hired killer murdered Pagadian journalist

A Pagadian City police intelligence analyst and investigator yesterday testified in court that a witness has identified a "hired killer" as the one who murdered journalist Edgar Damalerio.

SPO2 Eduardo Dablo told the court that on the morning of May 14, 2002, he was tasked by then Pagadian City police chief Azuri Hawani to go to Edgar Amoro's house "to get his affidavit" and "to know the suspect." Amoro had claimed he saw Damalerio's assailant since he was with the journalist the night he was murdered.

However, Dablo said he never met Amoro as the witness was already out of the house when he arrived. The prosecution was supposed to present Amoro as its witness, but he was murdered in February this year.

Then, on that same day, Dablo said Hawani called him to say that they already had the witness to the murder in his office.

Inside the office, Hawani reportedly presented Rudy Garcia as the eyewitness. Dablo testified that Garcia told him that the gunman was a certain Ronnie Quilme.

Dablo said they were not surprised about Garcia's revelation because Quilme was a known "hired killer" who had a standing arrest warrant over the murder of a policeman.

Then Dablo said he took the gallery of pictures of the city's police personalities from where Garcia pointed to the picture of Quilme. Garcia, Dablo said, positively identified Quilme as the one who shot Damalerio. Garcia, in his affidavit, stated that he saw Quilme riding tandem on a motorcycle that passed by the jeep Damalerio was riding on the night of May 13, 2002.

Dablo, when asked by Regional Trial Court Branch 19 judge Ramon Codilla Jr., could not tell who presented Garcia as witness since he said that when he arrived at Hawani's office, Garcia was already there.

The defense counsels were supposed to present Hawani, but had to re-schedule his appearance before the court after the police chief told them that he was sick.

Dablo further testified that he, together with three other policemen, including then PO1 Guillermo Wapille, went to the office of P/Cinsp Belarmino delos Santos who, after one and a half-hours, instructed them to leave his office except for Wapille.

Dablo said delos Santos told them that Wapille was the suspect in the murder of Damalerio.

However, during cross-examination, Dablo was forced to admit that Garcia, in his affidavit, did not pinpoint Quilme as the gunman. Dablo's admission was made after prosecution lawyer Dixon Fuentes asked the witness to read Garcia's affidavit.

When the court asked why the police did not arrest Quilme for his string of cases, Dablo said they could no longer trace Quilme's whereabouts. For lack of proof, the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Zamboanga City had dismissed Quilme's case.

Also yesterday, the defense brought Pagadian City prosecutor Reynaldo Goan, who was supposed to testify that he administered Garcia's oath when the latter executed his affidavit. But Goan's testimony was dispensed since the prosecution had already admitted Garcia's affidavit.

Damalerio, the managing editor of the Zamboanga Scribe and a broadcaster of dxKP in Pagadian City, was gunned down while riding a jeep on May 13, 2002. - Liv G. Campo