Court orders arrest of murder witness
The Regional Trial Court yesterday issued a bench warrant against one of the key witnesses in the killing of Pagadian-based teacher and radioman Edgar Amoro.
The court was prompted to issue the bench warrant against barangay tanod Samuel Porsuelo, also of Pagadian City, after he failed to appear in yesterday’s hearing of the murder case against Mohammad “Madix” Maulana and Norhan Ambol, Maulana’s, the suspects in Amoro’s shooting.
A bench warrant is a variant of an arrest warrant, which authorizes the immediate on-sight arrest of an individual. Judges typically issue bench warrants for persons deemed to be in contempt of court, possibly as a result of that person's failure to appear for a mandated court appearance.
SPO1 Marcelo Quevado, the fourth prosecution witness, testified that Porsuelo claimed to have identified Maulana as the alleged gunman, thus, prosecutors wanted the tanod to testify in court. However, Porsuelo failed to appear despite subpoena.
Amoro was shot near the Zamboanga del Sur National High School around 11:30 a.m. last February 2, 2005.
In his testimony yesterday, Quevedo told Judge Ester Veloso of Regional Trial Court Branch 16 that he met Porsuelo when he was interviewing bystanders to find possible witnesses of the shooting. Porsuelo reportedly identified suspect Mohammad Maulana from pictures from the police’s rogue’s gallery.
Quevedo said Porsuelo told him that there were two men on board a Kawasaki HD3 who fled from the scene right after Amoro was shot. Likewise, some students in the high school reportedly saw the gunman inside their campus at the time of the incident.
Amoro was one of the key witnesses to the murder of his friend, journalist Edgar Damalerio, who was shot dead also in Pagadian City on May 13, 2002.
Amoro was shot at point blank range by one of two men, as he left Zamboanga del Sur National High School where he taught English. He died in hospital shortly afterwards.
The trial was brought to
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