NBI, CIDG unmask Nida case suspect

One of the John Does earlier charged by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) for the murder of actress Nida Blanca last November, was finally identified yesterday.

In a joint manifestation and motion filed by the CIDG and the NBI before the Department of Justice (DOJ), the John Doe was identified as Vicente "Dodong" Polinar.

The NBI and CIDG claimed Polinar, an engineer, was the one who conducted a surveillance operation on Blanca a week before her murder.

Lolito Utitco, NBI deputy director for special investigation services, said the suspect was the one who bought the Mitsubishi Gallant used in monitoring Blanca’s activities.

Polinar conducted operation with his driver Alfredo Rodriguez, he said.

It was Rodriguez who later informed the NBI and the CIDG about Polinar.

The suspect is now in hiding somewhere in Bukidnon, along with the car used in casing Blanca, the CIDG said.

Attached with the amendment charge sheet were the sworn statements of 11 witnesses as well as the sworn statement of Polinar, who had been invited for questioning in connection with the case.

With the amendment complaint sheet, only two more respondents in the case, a John Doe and a Jane Doe, have remained unidentified.

Last July 17, Blanca’s Amercan husband Rod Strunk was charged with parricide by the CIDG and the NBI. Self-confessed killer Philip Medel was slapped with murder raps.

Three security guards at the Atlanta Centre in San Juan, where Blanca’s body was found, were also charged with obstruction of justice by the NBI.

The DOJ resumes it preliminary investigation of the case on Sept. 12. – Mike Frialde