Palace orders PNP: Question Rosebud

Malacañang ordered Philippine National Police (PNP) investigators yesterday to "invite" controversial police informer Mary "Rosebud" Ong as a "potential witness" in the Dec. 5 killing of controversial police Superintendent John Campos.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr. ordered Deputy Director General Reynaldo Velasco, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief, to secure Ong’s sworn statement on the killing of her former lover.

Lina issued the order after Ong, a former police anti-narcotics informer, claimed she had knowledge of the possible suspects and motive in the killing of her former boyfriend, who was also her "handler" in the PNP Narcotics Group (Nargroup).

"If something’s going to come out of that revelation by Mary Ong in the media, it should be reduced into writing and made under oath. So the investigators are already inviting Mary Ong," Lina said.

"She (will be) a resource person, a potential witness," he added as he emerged from a joint military-police command conference at Malacañang.

Lina said Velasco will determine if Ong knows something that would be valuable to the investigation and what evidence she can present to back up her statements.

"If she says something that can be backed up by evidence, then she can be a witness. But we are not prepared to say anything at this point," he said.

Lina clarified, however, that Ong would not be treated as a possible suspect although she was implicated by Campos’ friend Antonio Cabanban, who was with Campos but escaped unhurt when the police official was shot dead at an eatery in Parañaque City.

"All the information is being gathered. All eyewitnesses are being (interviewed) so that we can complete the picture from all these bits and pieces of information… But we are still (at) the stage of gathering all available evidence, re-checking statements and pursuing leads out of those statements," Lina said.

"We should be patient and let the police do their work without unnecessary speculations and theorizing," he added.

Lina said the police are looking into all possible angles, including the theory — proposed by PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director Chief Superintendent Eduardo Matillano — that Campos’ murder had something to do with a destabilization plot against the Arroyo administration.

"But, so far, the evidence does not warrant any definite theory on why Campos was killed. So what the PNP’s doing now is patiently, painstakingly gathering all available evidence, interviewing witnesses so that we can piece together all these information," he said.

Lina also warned police officials "not to discuss angles without any substantiation" to prevent speculations by the public and misreporting by media.

The DILG chief vowed the Campos killing would not be another unsolved high-profile murder case, like that of movie actress Nida Blanca.

"There are eyewitnesses, leads, statements that can lead to identification of (the) possible assassins. It was just four days ago. This is a premeditated murder, done in total secrecy and under cover of darkness… So a premeditated murder is not something easily cracked," he said.

Under pressure

Also yesterday, the Parañaque City police command, the lead investigating unit on the Campos case, expressed concern at the increased pressure it has been experiencing on the Campos murder case.

"(The speculations) are, in a way, muddling the investigation. They put pressure on us and we can’t concentrate on our job," said Superintendent Wency Pascual, the command’s officer-in-charge.

Five days after Campos was shot at point-blank range at an eatery in Better Living subdivision, Pascual admitted that investigators are "still at a loss" on the identify of the gunmen.

Pascual said none of the witnesses, who only saw the gunman’s profile, could accurately describe the perpetrator beyond his body build and height. The gunman’s face was also partially concealed by the Armalite he used to kill Campos.

Pascual stressed that the investigation is "not yet pointing to any particular angle" or motive behind the slay.

Pascual also welcomed the help offered by Campos’ former classmates at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) in solving the case. — Marichu Villanueva, Jaime Laude, Nikko Dizon