Challenge to Pajero owner: "Don't leave Cebu"

CEBU, Philippines -A police official challenged the owner of the Mitsubishi Pajero that the police recently confiscated not to leave Cebu until a case is filed against a new set of suspects for the kidnap-slay of Ellah Joy Pique.

Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador, the task force spokesperson, described Bella Ruby Santos as “too defensive” considering that the police have yet to name any suspect in Pique’s gruesome murder.

The task force has yet to charge someone for the incident, said Comendador, who is also the newly designated officer-in-charge of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO).

That is why Comendador said he is challenging Santos not to leave the country until a case is filed and a warrant of arrest is issued.

Santos, for the first time, appeared in public last Tuesday to deny any involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Pique.

She said she and her boyfriend Ian Charles Griffiths stayed home in Inayagan, Naga last Feb. 8, the day Pique was kidnapped in Barangay Calajoan. They left for Singapore the next day. Pique’s body was found early that morning.

Comendador said the Criminal Investigation and Detective Management Branch (CIDG) 7, the lead agency, along with other police units who raided her house in Inayagan, were armed with a search warrant issued by the court.

He said the implementation of the warrant was part of their ongoing investigation to gather more evidence for Pique’s case. But he clarified that it is still possible that the items they recovered from Santos’ house are not related to Pique’s case.

Comendador said, though, that they still could not file a case within this week because they are waiting for the court to turn over the evidence to them after they filed a motion to submit the evidence to Manila for forensic examination.

He said they will make sure that they have strong evidence to support their case once this is filed.

The police official added that they are willing to face any case Santos may file against the police regarding Pique’s case. —(FREEMAN)