Jojo lawyers to present another witness today

The court asked the private prosecutors of the murder case against policeman Marcial Ocampo, suspected of killing Bantay Dagat official Elpidio "Jojo" de la Victoria, to present in court today the driver of the taxi allegedly boarded by Ocampo in his getaway.

Regional Trial Court judge Ireneo Lee Gako Jr advised private prosecutors Fritz Quiñanola and Rameses Villagonzalo to present before the court this afternoon the taxi driver after the cross-examination by defense counsel Hector Fernandez of prosecution witness Evan Echavez.

Quiñanola promised the judge to look for the taxi driver, but said if they cannot find him they will present another witness in this afternoon's continuation of the hearing.

The taxi driver was among the four witnesses who identified Ocampo as the one who shot and killed De la Victoria on the afternoon of April 12 just after he arrived at his house in barangay San Roque, Talisay City.

Fernandez will question Echavez again this afternoon for the third time. In last Friday's hearing, Gako told Fernandez to stop wasting time by irrelevant questions.

"You cannot twist the fact if the witness was really there at the crime scene. You just prove that the person he saw at the crime scene was not the accused. You are the one tiring yourself," he told Fernandez

Ocampo, who was formerly assigned to the Minglanilla police station, is presently detained at the Talisay City jail, after he was charged with murder for allegedly killing Dela Victoria. - Rene U. Borromeo