Dismissed policeman Arnulfo Pigon Jr. formally pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering former Sta. Fe mayor Rogelio Illustrisimo during his arraignment yesterday.
Regional Trial Court judge Ester Veloso set the pre-trial of the case for February 18, when the counsels for the prosecution and defense will agree on specific issues to be taken up, including the number of their witnesses to be presented during the formal trial.
Pigon denied any involvement in the killing of Illustrisimo, who was shot dead shortly before the elections last May inside the Capitol compound after attending the hearing of his disqualification case before the provincial office of the Commission on Elections.
Pigon, who used to be a member of the Special Weapons and Tactics team of the Mandaue City Police Office, was accused of shooting Illustrisimo after police investigators claimed witnesses pointed to him as the assailant. But Pigon said he was in Manila at the time.
National Bureau of Investigation agents brought Pigon here two weeks ago, a few months after he surrendered to them in Manila.
The police also claimed they have sufficient evidence to indict Illustrisimo’s political rival Domingo Zaspa to the killing.
Some witnesses have claimed seeing Zaspa meeting with Pigon in a hotel right after the shooting.
It was Zaspa of the One Cebu-Kampi party of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia who filed a disqualification case against Illustrisimo, who was running for mayor of Sta. Fe town under the Lakas-CMD party. — Rene U. Borromeo/BRP