'NBI deputy chief still linking Gatdula to ambush'

MANILA, Philippines - National Bureau of Investigation Deputy Director Reynaldo Esmeralda is still linking his former boss, dismissed NBI director Magtanggol Gatdula, to the attack on him last Feb. 21, Gatdula’s lawyer said yesterday.

“Hard to believe (that he has no problem with Gatdula). He is pointing to Gatdula without proof,” Abraham Espejo said in a text message to The STAR.

Esmeralda said he is investigating the angle that the ambush could be linked to the kidnapping and extortion case filed by Japanese woman Noriyo Ohara against Gatdula and several NBI officials and agents.

“I have nothing against him,” he said when asked about reports alleging that Gatdula had knowledge of the attack.

Espejo, when told that Esmeralda never linked Gatdula to the ambush, said, “Who else is being accused in the Ohara case? I don’t think Ohara ordered his ambush.”

He said Gatdula just goes to their Iglesia Ni Cristo chapel every day to cope with depression.

“How can he be planning an ambush? This is unfair. They should stop this. The man is down, they are still kicking him,” Espejo said.

Esmeralda, when asked if Gatdula was innocent in the kidnapping and extortion case, said he would leave it up to NBI investigators. He also refused to state if Gatdula would be cleared of the charges, saying that is best left to the courts.