Pedro Roque Jr., head of the NBI team investigating the murder of Agustin, publisher of Starline Times Recorder, said they have gathered solid evidence against the suspects.
Agustin, who was shot inside his home here about a year ago, had published exposés on alleged anomalies in the Dingalan municipal government headed by Mayor Jaime Ylarde.
"We have already built solid evidence against the suspects, including Ylarde, and this case could be among the few involving the killings of journalists in the country to be finally solved with the arrest and conviction of the suspects," Roque told The STAR.
Ylarde’s alleged involvement in the killing surfaced in the testimony of Reynaldo Morete, who admitted acting as a lookout during the shooting.
Morete, who is now a state witness, alleged that Ylarde masterminded Agustin’s murder.
Morete, who were arrested by NBI agents based in Cabanatuan City, also tagged his cousin Boy Morete and a certain Emmanuel Alday as the triggermen. The two are still at large.
Ylarde said in a phone interview that he is aware that prosecutors had amended an earlier resolution, which only identified Morete and Alday as the suspects in the killing.
Ylarde was named as the alleged mastermind in the amended resolution issued last week by a new panel of prosecutors assigned to the case by Justice Justice Secretary Jose Gonzalez.
"I don’t know why the initial resolution was amended, but I am aware that the case against me is non-bailable, but it is really up to my lawyer how to counter that," he said.
Ylarde, however, said he is willing to stay in jail should he be not allowed to post bail.
"I have faith in the justice system and I know I will be cleared," he said.
Roque said he expects Ylarde’s lawyer to seek ways to delay the issuance of an arrest warrant against the mayor.
"I expect the regional trial court to conduct its own investigation apart from the preliminary investigation already (conducted) by the prosecutor’s office. This has a precedent in the case of Sen. Panfilo Lacson during the Estrada administration," he said.
The International Federation of Journalists has questioned the validity of recent figures released by the Philippine National Police (PNP) which claim that majority of the killings of Filipino journalists have been solved.
According to local media watchdog groups, 76 journalists have been killed since 1986.
Of these cases, 40 occurred in the last five years under the Arroyo administration. Only three of these 40 cases have been solved, they said.
The PNP, however, claimed that there were only 69 killings of journalists recorded and that 30 of the 40 cases since 2001 are considered closed because suspects have been charged in court.
"The conflicting figures of the PNP and other independent organizations indicate that the administration is not being frank about its handling of the cases and suggests a culture of misinformation in the Philippines," IFJ president Christopher Warren was recently quoted as saying.
"The lack of convictions in the spate of media killings in the Philippines highlights the authorities’ blatant disregard for journalists’ basic human rights as well as an indifference toward freedom of the press," Warren added.
Meanwhile, Ylarde bewailed his being implicated in the case, saying he has to attend to other priorities arising from the continuing threat of landslides from the Sierra Madre mountain range.
"There are over 1,000 families who have to be relocated to a permanent and safe area, but most of the areas that are safe are privately owned and we cannot afford to buy them," he said.
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau earlier declared many populated areas in Dingalan under high risk of landslides, and recommended the permanent relocation of the affected villagers.