Justice sought for PDAF foe

MANILA, Philippines – Friends and allies of anti-corruption advocate Quintin “Ting” Paredes San Diego are crying for justice following his murder on Saturday afternoon in his resort in Dingalan, Aurora.

Probers are reportedly looking at political rivalry as the motive for the murder.

Senatorial candidate Greco Belgica, San Diego’s co-petitioner in the Supreme Court case against the controversial Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), said they would not stop until the perpetrators of the crime were behind bars.

“We will not let his death go unpunished,” Belgica told The STAR in a phone interview. “We will call for a full investigation. We will pursue justice.”

San Diego was shot four times in the head by two unidentified assailants inside Maligaya Resort in Barangay Caragsacan around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. The gunman used a 9mm pistol and fled on a motorcycle after the murder.

Initial investigation shows that one of the assailants shot San Diego without provocation while the other stood by, apparently to ensure they could immediately escape.

Police said San Diego had just met with his workers and was walking back to his cottage when the incident happened.

Investigators are getting the statements of the people in the resort who could describe the assailants. They are also looking at all possible angles, particularly San Diego’s anti-corruption advocacy as a possible motive for his murder.

In a phone interview with The STAR, Diego Magpantay of the Citizens Crime Watch (CCW) said they were also looking at the possibility that politics was the motive behind the killing of San Diego. They have several leads but he declined to provide details so as not to interfere with the investigation.

Magpantay and other members of CCW went to the crime scene yesterday to assist the police in the investigation. He said there was a witness in the shooting who could identify the gunmen.

The CCW will also look at San Diego’s personal life, particularly his business interests and transactions.

San Diego is a farm owner and realtor. He founded the August 26 People’s Coalition following the million people march against congressional pork barrel in Rizal Park on Aug. 26, 2013. He is also the founding chairman and first nominee of the Movement Against Dynasty (MAD).

MAD was one of the petitioners in the case against the PDAF, which the SC declared unconstitutional.

He was also an advocate for the creation of peace zones, or areas where government forces and rebel insurgents are not allowed to enter with their firearms.

San Diego was the son of the late Court of Appeals Justice Lourdes Babila Paredes, the first female magistrate of the appellate court. As a regional trial court judge, Paredes convicted the scions of prominent families who raped actress Maggie de la Riva. Paredes was the daughter of the late Senate president Quintin Paredes.

Great loss for Filipinos

Delmar Taclibon, a member of MAD board of trustees and the secretary-general of August 26 People’s Coalition, condemned the “senseless murder and assassination” of San Diego.

“May his soul unite us to seek justice for those who have none and advocate change and reform,” he said in a statement. “(He) is dead but the struggle will continue and his assassination will reverberate so that justice will be done.”

San Diego’s remains will be brought to Loyola Memorial Chapels and Crematorium in Guadalupe, Makati City.

Both Belgica and Magpantay believe that San Diego’s demise is a great loss for the anti-corruption advocacy in the country.

Called the “father of anti-dynasty campaign” in the Philippines, San Diego vigorously campaigned for the passage of an anti-dynasty law in Congress.

“It is sad that he won’t see the fruits of his hard work,” said Magpantay, who lamented the failure of the current administration to pass the law despite getting support from President Aquino himself. With Cecille Suerte Felipe