MIAA official denies hand in slaying

A Manila International Airport Authority official suspected of being involved in the murder of MIAA assistant general manager for finance Lilia Diaz denied yesterday that he had threatened to kill Diaz and her family.

Authorities had been searching for the MIAA official after Diaz’s elder sister, Cherry, told police that an airport official named Butch Bautista had threatened to kill her sister while they were in an elevator.

But lawyer Cecilio "Butch" Bautista, officer-in-charge of the MIAA emergency services department, yesterday told The STAR Cherry’s charge was a lie.

"This is a complete lie. In fact, I should be the one to file charges against Cherry for attempting to slap me at the lobby of the MIAA. A lot of people saw it and the duty security guard even asked me about it," Bautista said.

According to Bautista, he met Cherry at the lobby of the MIAA hours after Diaz was gunned down on Sept. 9 and he tried to approach her to offer condolences and offer his hand as a gesture of sympathy.

However, instead of accepting his offer, she allegedly said: "Sino ka, kilala ba kita? Alam mo ba bago namatay ang kapatid ko masamang masama ang loob sa ’yo (Who are you? Do I know you? Did you know that before my sister died she felt so bad about you)?"

Surprised by her outburst, Bautista said he asked Cherry if she can prove her statement and thinking that their conversation would lead to nowhere, he decided to just walk away.

But Cherry hit him in the chest and even tried to slap him, Bautista claimed.

"I am now even considering the filing of appropriate charges against Cherry if the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) calls for me," he said.

But Cherry said she will submit her sworn statement to the Parañaque police tomorrow and possibly present a witness.

Bautista’s alleged threats against Diaz were supposedly heard by another person who the police are now trying to locate.

However, even before the start of the investigation of the crime, Cherry and another sister, Thelma, have already identified Bautista as a suspect.

Officials and personnel of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) who brought Diaz to the Olivares General Hospital after the ambush at the Moonwalk Subdivision reported that Cherry had cried out Bautista’s name as one of the possible suspects.

"This is premeditated," Bautista countered. "Why are they accusing me, am I the only one who has a grudge against her? Besides, in work, it cannot be avoided that there would be disagreements with your peers but our differences are not enough for me to have her killed. Check the MIAA, we never had a violent confrontation or heated argument," he added.

Bautista said he and Diaz had known each other since 1979 as they were classmates in law school but became distant in 1992.

"We don’t’ work in the same building and I rarely see Lilia and if we do meet by chance, we ignore each other almost like deadma," Bautista said.

In 1998, Diaz filed charges for violation of ethics and ethical standards against Bautista and 12 others before the Office of the Ombudsman, but the case was dismissed for lack of merit in 2001.

Diaz hired Imelda Claveria, who used to be the chief accountant at the Olongapo Maintenance Service Inc., to dig up documents at OMSI to prove that Baustista had received "grease money" amounting to P250,000 from the contracts between MIAA and OMSI.

But Bautista said this accusation was baseless because he was not the MIAA general manger, nor was he a member of the public bidding and awards committee or the board of directors who directly decides on the agency’s choice of projects.

"How could I then influence the decision? Besides the OMSI joined many biddings and there are also times that would lose," he explained

He did not deny though that he knew the OMSI owners. "Tirso San Gabriel, Albert’s father, is a family friend. This I (will) not deny," he said.

The Parañaque police earlier invited for questioning Albert San Gabriel, OMSI vice president and general manager, who was tagged by Cherry as the brains behind the ambush.

San Gabriel recently won an extortion case he filed against Diaz and Rolando Hernandez, of MIAA general services division, who allegedly demanded P500,000 and P200,000 in grease money from him, respectively.

Edwin Defeo, Diaz’s driver, said his employer had been distraught over the court’s verdict in the extortion case and she has been receiving death threats.

Bautista said he would be cooperative if police would summon him for questioning.