Suspect in newsman’s slay points to trader as mastermind

A suspect in the murder of tabloid newsman Alberto Orsolino yesterday admitted his role in the May 16 ambush and pointed to a fishing magnate in Malabon as the mastermind.

Romelie Lirazan, 33, of Barangay Luzviminda Extension (Saulog), Dasmariñas, Cavite, said a certain Lope Jimenez ordered the killing.

"Malaki na ang perwisyo ni Orsolino. Tapusin nyo na yan," Lirazan told probers, quoting the alleged mastermind. He added that prior to the killing, they met at least three times in Jimenez’s office to plan the hit.

Superintendent Napoleon Cuaton, Caloocan deputy police chief and Station Investigation and Detective Management Bureau (SIDMB) chief on top of the case, said Lirazan verbally admitted yesterday he drove the blue motorcycle bearing the real gunman in the ambush of Orsolino.

SPO2 Ferdinand Sarmiento Jr., officer-on-case, said Lirazan revealed that Jimenez owned at least two firms — Jimenez Marine Corp. (JMC) and the Buena Suerte Fishing Co. in Barangay Tonsuya, Malabon, not far from where Orsolino lived.

Lirazan said he and the gunman drove out of one of these firms as they failed Orsolino on his way out that fateful day.

Lirazan was presented to media by Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil, Northern Police District (NPD) director last Monday, hours after he was arrested in Victoria, Laguna where he went into hiding. He denied it was he who shot Orsolino and said he will prove that in court.

In turn, he identified the triggerman as a certain ‘Jun’ or ‘Joshua’, allegedly a member of the Philippine Guardians Brotherhood Inc. (PGBI). A black, long-sleeved PGBI shirt was found together with other pieces of evidence in the motorcycle used in the killing after it was abandoned shortly.

Also implicated by Lirazan were a Carlito Vedano Jr., who acted as a lookout, a certain "Obet," allegedly a personal driver of Jimenez and a ‘Chief Marco,’ another henchman of Jimenez, who allegedly handled the recruitment of the hired guns.

"Obet" and Chief Marco allegedly monitored Orsolino’s daily routine and established a pattern for the kill.

The police has declared Orsolino’s murder was not work-related. They said they are still stumped as to the real motive of the alleged mastermind.