Driver faces homicide raps

CEBU, Philippines - The Naga City Prosecutor’s Office has recommended the filing of a homicide case against a man accused of conspiring in the killing of a businessman in Barangay Tuyan.

City Prosecutor Napoleon Alburo said evidence against Van Vincent Mabanag warrant the filing of the case before the court.

Alburo said a witness for the prosecution identified Mabanag as the one who drove the get-away vehicle with two unidentified persons after victim Renante Bacus was shot and killed on November 19, 2013.

“Both Bacus and Mabanag are residing in Barangay Tuyan, City of Naga, and since they are residents of the same barangay, it is easy for the respondent to reach the house even in a few minutes, especially he is riding a motorcycle or any other vehicle,” the resolution reads.

According to the city prosecutor, as a basic rule “for the alibi to prosper, the accused must prove that he was somewhere else when the crime was committed and it was physically impossible for him to have been at the scene of the crime.”

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by the National Bureau of Investigation -7 against Mabanag and two unidentified persons.

Investigation disclosed that at around 8:30 a.m. on November 19, 2013, the victim was manning his store, Bacus Construction Supply, in Barangay Tuyan when he was shot and killed.

Witness Jerry Dantes, in his sworn statement, said he just finished talking to Bacus for a painting job assigned to him when a person wearing a bonnet appeared and shot the victim.

Dantes further narrated that the gunman aimed the firearm at him, prompting him to run away and hide behind a post. He added that the suspect also aimed his gun at other employees of the store.

Through picture lineup, Dantes identified Mabanag as the one who allegedly fired at the victim.

Mabanag denied the allegations, saying that the case filed against him was “false and malicious.”

Mabanag’s friend Diana Rose Cabusas and brother Mark Donnal Mabanag corroborated his statements and said that the respondent was in his residence when the shooting incident happened.   (FREEMAN)