Bersamin kin welcome murder raps vs Abra's ex-governor

MANILA, Philippines - A daughter of slain lawmaker Luis Bersamin Jr. welcomed yesterday the filing of murder charges against former Abra governor Vicente Valera and said their camp will work for the speedy issuance of an arrest warrant against him.

“I will go there in Quezon City maybe on Tuesday to follow up,” Rosario Bersamin told reporters in a phone interview.

Rosario was reacting to a March 17 resolution by the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office formally charging Valera with two counts of murder and two counts of frustrated murder.

Also charged were alleged triggerman Jerry Turqueza and Valera’s security escort, Sgt. Leo Bello.

The three were implicated based on the testimonies of former La Paz town vice mayor Freddie Dupo and Sonny Taculao, who were earlier charged along with former Army master sergeant Rufino Panday.

“We’re all very happy. At least things are slowly clearing up. We’re very okay with that,” Rosario said yesterday.

She said Valera is still in the country after the Department of Justice issued a hold departure order against the former governor following a request made by the Bersamin family late last year.

The prosecutor’s office formally charged the suspects more than a year after the Quezon City Police District-Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (QCPD-CIDU) filed the charges before the fiscal.

The Bersamin family had always maintained that Valera, a political rival of the slain Abra representative, was behind the killing that took place in December 2006 as the former lawmaker was attending a wedding in Quezon City.

Bersamin’s police bodyguard, Senior Police Officer 1 Adelfo Ortega, was also killed during the incident. Parking attendant Rolly Boy Labaja and Bersamin’s driver, Allan Sawadan, were injured during the shooting.– Reinir Padua