A case of mistaken identity - Lozano

MANILA, Philippines - Had lawyer Oliver Lozano been sure that the charred body that was found in Pampanga was his son’s, he would have immediately embraced it and wrapped it in a nicer blanket.

On Sunday night when he was informed that Emerson’s dental records matched the cast of the lower jaw of the charred body, the father broke down.

Lozano was composed during most of the interview with reporters but his voice cracked when he was asked by The STAR about the moment they were told that the charred body was indeed Emerson’s.

“I wailed. I asked for his forgiveness because we did not know that the charred body was his,” the father said at the wake of his son yesterday in Quezon City.

The elder Lozano said he felt bad that his son’s body lay unattended for days.

Apart from the still unfinished medico-legal findings, the Lozano family could not immediately claim the charred body because another person was claiming it.

He said that up to the last moment, he was hoping that Emerson was still alive.

“That is the feeling of an aggrieved father,” Lozano said.

Emerson went missing on Wednesday after a supposed meeting with a client at a gas station in Barangay Old Balara. His driver was found dead and dumped in La Paz, Tarlac on Thursday. Emerson’s charred body was dumped in Porac, Pampanga.

The elder Lozano, a known Marcos loyalist, believes his son was a victim of mistaken identity and that Emerson was salvaged after having been mistaken for a criminal.

“Based on the brutality (committed to Emerson, the crime was) intended for a hardened criminal,” the father said.

When asked if he was insinuating that law enforcers going after criminals were the ones who might have killed his son, Lozano said: “Not necessarily.”

He noted that criminal groups could very well do that kind of brutality.

Lozano said Emerson did not have any enemies as a person and as a businessman.

“He had a humble reputation... He lived simply,” he said.

Emerson, 44, was the second of four siblings and was in the buy-and-sell business. He was married with two children.

Lozano said his son had served as a village councilor in their barangay but he had no political enemy.

He also did not think that the killing was in any way related to the cases he had handled in the past and the family had no idea who might have done it.

He said his son acted normally and did not seem distressed before he went missing. There was no sign of the brutality that would befall Emerson, he said.

Lozano, who once lawyered for the Marcoses, also revealed that after the media publicized his son’s disappearance, a person had called up one of his clients, claiming to have witnessed the abduction.

He said he was hopeful that the prospective eyewitness would eventually lead to the solving of the crime and appealed to those who were behind the killings to surrender, saying his family would not exact revenge.

The elder Lozano said he was so far satisfied with the way authorities are handling the case.

As of yesterday, the family had yet to decide on the day of Emerson’s burial. But they said it would be a traditional burial and that Emerson’s remains would not be cremated.