MANILA, Philippines - A suspect-turned-state witness in the murder of broadcaster Gerry Ortega was found dead inside his detention cell at the Quezon provincial jail, in what initially appeared to be a suicide.
Chief Inspector Job de Mesa, officer-in-charge of the Lucena City police, said Dennis Aranas was found hanging with the strap of a shoulder bag inside his cell at around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, but it was reported to the police only seven hours later.
Aranas, the alleged lookout in the murder of Ortega in January 2011, was the second accused in the case to die while in detention. The first was Percival Lecias, who died under police custody due to a wound infection last Sept. 11. Aranas was under the witness protection program.
De Mesa said they will look into the matter and summon jail officers and Aranas’ relatives.
“The incident was reported to the police by Aranas’ relatives at 5 p.m. and not by jail officials,†De Mesa said, adding that the reports of the relatives prompted the police to check on the incident.
Aljon Aranas, brother of the victim, told probers that the jail guards claimed that Dennis committed suicide.
In a text message to The STAR, Ortega’s daughter Mika said they are worried over the death of the suspect in their father’s case.
“This may weaken the case in the long run,†she said.
Mika said that Dennis’ wife does not believe that her husband committed suicide and suspects that his death had something to do with Ortega’s killing.
“When we got there to check the report, we found out that the area had been cleared and the body turned over to the Quezon Medical Center. When we got there the body was already in the morgue,†said De Mesa.
With the evidence tampered and the body in morgue, De Mesa admitted that the police could not start the investigation.
Ortega was shot in front of an ukay-ukay store in Puerto Princesa, Palawan allegedly by Marlon Recamata, who was arrested shortly after the killing. The .45 caliber used in the murder was seized from him.
Recamata confessed that he was hired by Rodolfo Edrad alias Bumar to kill Ortega for P150,000. He said he received P10,000 as down payment and another P15,000 for operational expenses.
Police later traced the firearm to be registered in the name of lawyer Romeo Seratubias.
Edrad was also identified by Nonoy Regalado as the person who instructed him to buy a firearm. Regalado claimed he contacted Lecias to look for a firearm, which was purchased from Seratubias.
Recamata said he was convinced to kill Ortega, whom Bumar described to be a bad guy.
However, after learning the identity of Ortega and how the people of Palawan loved him, he expressed regret for committing the crime.
Police are still hunting a certain Armando Noel Loria, alias Salbakuta, in relation to the case.
Former Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes and his brother Coron mayor Mario Reyes were implicated in the murder but they denied any knowledge. – With Ed Amoroso