Enzo’s widow now in Malaysia?

MANILA, Philippines - How true are reports that the widow of slain racer Ferdinand “Enzo” Pastor, who is also accused in his murder, has left the country?

Information gathered by The STAR alleged that Dalia Guerrero Pastor left the county on Tuesday and is now in Malaysia. 

It allegedly cost P8 million to bring Pastor’s widow out of the country, a source said. 

It was not clear whether her two children were with her. 

The source said Dalia boarded a chartered plane that carried her from Luzon to Tawi-Tawi at around 5 a.m. on Tuesday. 

“From Tawi-Tawi, she supposedly took a speed boat that brought her to Malaysia,” the source told The STAR in an interview. 

According to the source, two pilots were commissioned to fly Dalia to Tawi-Tawi. They were allegedly tapped by another pilot, who is also a racer.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), however, denied reports that Dalia left the country.

The CAAP said it double-checked the flight manifest of Lion Air, which reportedly flew Dalia to Tawi-Tawi. It said Lion Air only carries passengers from Manila to Naga or Cauayan, Isabela.

Dalia is facing parricide charges before the Department of Justice (DOJ) for Pastor’s death. Her alleged lover, Domingo “Sandy” de Guzman III, is facing a separate murder case for allegedly ordering the killing on June 12. Both of them are facing a frustrated murder charge for the injuries sustained by Pastor’s companion at the time of the killing. 

Confessed gunman Police Officer 2 Edgar Angel has pointed to De Guzman as the one who allegedly tapped him to kill Pastor. Angel was earlier arrested for a drug offense. 

Murder is a non-bailable offense, but since the murder case is still under preliminary investigation (PI) by the DOJ, De Guzman and Dalia have yet to be indicted in court for allegedly ordering the killing.

Angel claimed seeing Dalia inside De Guzman’s car as he and the businessman allegedly talked about the plan to kill Pastor on June 11, the day before the hit.

De Guzman was arrested in Muntinlupa City on Aug. 26 when he allegedly handed over a P50,000 bonus he had allegedly promised Angel. He was indicted on illegal possession of firearms charges with the Muntinlupa court and posted P80,000 bail Tuesday.

De Guzman cannot leave Phl – De Lima

De Guzman could be arrested at the airport should he try to leave the country while facing preliminary investigation on murder and frustrated murder charges at the DOJ, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said yesterday.

 “If he (De Guzman) attempts to leave, I can have him arrested under the theory that he is attempting to obstruct justice because the PI is ongoing and his reason for leaving would be very obvious,” she told reporters in an interview.

De Lima said De Guzman and Dalia would only be allowed to leave the country for “valid reasons” – especially in the absence of hold departure order issued by a court against them.

The DOJ issued a lookout bulletin order against De Guzman, Dalia and Angel, who remains in detention due to a separate drug case. De Lima clarified that while LOB cannot prevent the respondents from leaving the country, the presumption for their possible flight is that “they are trying to evade prosecution and therefore could fall under the crime of obstruction of justice.” 

The Bureau of Immigration has been placed on alert to monitor possible flight of the respondents.

Angel, who confessed to killing Pastor and tagged De Guzman and Dalia as the brains, is set to submit his affidavit to the DOJ on Sept. 8.

De Guzman and Dalia are expected to appear before the investigating prosecutor on Sept. 9 and 16 to answer the charges.

The National Bureau of Investigation, meanwhile, is supporting the findings of the police investigation on the murder case. It will submit to the DOJ today evidence supposedly showing the conspiracy between the three respondents in killing Pastor. – With Edu Punay, Rudy Santos