P200,000 offered for info on Solgen lawyer’s slay

The Southern Police District (SPD) offered yesterday a P200,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the killers of Office of the Solicitors General (OSG) lawyer Nestor Ballacillo and his son, Benedict, in Parañaque City last Dec. 6.

SPD director chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales expressed hope that the reward would help encourage witnesses to come forward and cooperate with the police in putting behind bars the killers of the Ballacillos.

"We are hoping that the reward money would go a long way. We will give the cash to whoever can forward to us information leading to the identification and arrest of the suspects in the case," Rosales told The STAR.

The SPD director said witnesses can call his cellphone (0927-3554235) and their identities would be treated with strict confidentiality.

"We will give the reward money to informants after the arrest of the suspects. No questions asked," he added.

Rosales said they are still gathering evidence, which they are sharing with agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), the investigating arm of the Philippine National Police (PNP).

The elder Ballacillo is arguing the government’s case on the controversial Philippine International Air Terminals Corp. (Piatco) deal.

Ballacillo and his son were on board a tricycle bound for Sucat at 6:30 a.m. last Dec. 6 when they were gunned down by two unidentified men in Barangay San Antonio.

Superintendent Ronald Estilles, Parañaque City police chief, said the gunmen grabbed Ballacillo’s backpack containing documents and wallet loaded with P1,000 in cash, apparently to make it appear that it was a robbery case.

But the suspects left behind the elder Ballacillo’s expensive Nokia 9500 cellphone.