NBI summons witnesses in ambush of asst. fiscal

CEBU - Two trisikad drivers who witnessed the shooting of Assistant Cebu City Prosecutor Patrick Osorio were invited yesterday by the National Bureau of Investigation to shed light on the incident.

The two trisikad drivers, whose names have been withheld by The FREEMAN upon request of the investigators for security reasons, said that they were fixing their bikes along Maria Gochan Street in Barangay Mambaling in the afternoon of January 6 when they heard two gun fires.

The two witnesses said they saw two people on a red motorcycle stop beside Osorio’s Toyota Revo. The back rider who was wearing a yellow helmet, black t-shirt and denim short pants fired at Osorio twice.

After the shooting the unidentified assailants fled towards south via Natalio Bacalso Avenue.

The witnesses admitted that they did not see the faces of the assailants.

The NBI however is still looking for other possible witnesses, who might have seen the faces of the assailants on their way to escape or prior to the shooting.

NBI investigators are also in possession of the inventory of cases handled by Osorio.

Some of these cases were allegedly recommended by city prosecutor Nicolas Sellon and Regional State Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane to be seriously looked into as it might have something to do with the murder.

The NBI is already convinced that the killing of Osorio was planned and was not just a spur of the moment violence.

The manner that the shooting was executed drew investigators to believe that it was premeditated and therefore could have something to do with his job as prosecutor.

However, NBI director Medardo De Lemos, in an earlier interview said, he still wants to explore the personal life of Osorio to find out if there was nothing personal that could have drove the assailant to commit the crime.

Osorio was shot last Tuesday afternoon and died less than 24 hours later at the hospital because of multiple organ failure.

LOCAL BOYS?

Cebu City Police Office Director Sr. Supt. Patrocinio Comendador said that they are focusing their investigation on the possibility that local boys were hired to kill Osorio.

Comendador said that he believes the killers are still in the city. He is also requesting the family of the victim that an autopsy be conducted so they can determine the kind of ammunition used. — with Christopher Gabriel Bonjoc/NLQ   (THE FREEMAN)