NBI has new witness in Bentain case

MANILA, Philippines - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has a new witness in the case of Edgar Bentain, an employee of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) who disappeared 10 years ago and is believed to have been killed.

NBI’s counterterrorism unit chief Ricardo Diaz said “Informant X” told them where Bentain was buried, but they are still verifying the information.

“The informant knows a lot of (second-hand) information, but has no first-hand knowledge,” he said.

Sources at the NBI also revealed they received information that Bentain, before he was buried, was placed inside a drum.

Diaz said the NBI has no eyewitnesses to what happened to Bentain, and witnesses who have second-hand information “can help us establish a lead.”

Bentain was the video operator of Pagcor who leaked a footage of then Vice President Joseph Estrada gambling in the casino with his former friend, Charlie “Atong” Ang.

Though there are reports he was abducted, Diaz said “officially, it was a case of disappearence. We have no witnesses who saw Bentain being abducted or murdered.”

He said if ever Bentain’s body is found, the NBI will review the witnesses’ testimonies and pieces of evidence in the case, which was closed years back. The case was re-opened upon the orders of Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, who responded to Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s expose regarding the case and granted the Bentain family’s request. – Sandy Araneta