No leads yet on columnist’s slay

Barely a week after tabloid columnist Nicolas Cervantes was gunned down by two armed men in Mandaluyong City, the police are still facing a blank wall on his case.

Superintendent Ericson Velasquez, Mandaluyong City police chief, admitted that they have no clear lead as yet on the motive behind the killing of Cervantes, 66.

"Hindi naman siya sikat at hindi rin kontrobersiyal na tao. Wala pa kaming malinaw na lead kung ano talaga ang motibo sa pagpatay sa kanya (He is not famous or controversial. We do not have any leads yet on the motive for his killing)," Velaquez told The Star.

He added that the two teams he dispatched to conduct a background check on Cervantes also returned empty-handed.

Despite the initial setbacks, Velasquez vowed to continue the investigation until the gunmen were identified and thrown behind bars. "Give me another week and we might establish the motive in Cervantes’ slay," he said.

Cervantes, a columnist of a tabloid in Surigao, was emerging from an alley when gunned down by two men in Barangay Hagdang Bato at 1:50 p.m. last Tuesday.

The gunmen casually boarded a passing passenger jeepney after the incident.

The Mandaluyong City police chief said the victim’s family has yet to give their statement on the killing. "We are waiting for them to show up after the victim was laid to rest," he said.

Earlier, Chief Superintendent Charlemagne Alejandrino, director of the Eastern Police District (EPD), claimed that Cervantes’ killing was not work-related.