Lawman in jeweler's slay set free

MANILA, Philippines - The Las Piñas City prosecutor’s office has released a Quezon province policeman accused of killing a jeweler last December due to the lack of eyewitnesses.

In a resolution, prosecutor Zelica Salvador-Longcob said she was “inclined” to grant Police Officer 2 Bayani Mercado’s motion for release because his arresting officer “does not have personal knowledge of facts or circumstances” that he committed the crime.

In an interview with The STAR, Longcob said it was not the police but tricycle driver Jendo Hinautan who pointed to Mercado as one of the suspects in the killing of Maria Cristina Maru.

In his affidavit, Hinautan said he knows who lives in Casimiro Village, so when Mercado flagged him down, “I knew he was the one who shot the woman I found dead.” 

Longcob, however, said Hinautan “is not an eyewitness to the shooting” and his statement is “merely based on conjectures and speculations, which is not equivalent to proof.”

She added that “even granting the arrest was valid,” police investigators failed to include some documents required for inquest proceedings, such as Maru’s death certificate, which was only forwarded to her last Monday – a month after Maru was shot dead.

Mercado and five others, including another policeman, were charged for Maru’s death. Police are eyeing conflict over property as a motive behind the killing.

The suspects are undergoing preliminary investigation, which started last Monday.