|
NBI
tags 3 more in Chua murder
Philippine
Daily Inquirer; by Jerome Aning (January 6, 2002, Page A19,
Vol. 17, No.29)
Note:
This article is reproduced as printed.
The
National Bureau of Investigation has tagged three more University
of Santo Tomas students as suspects in the abduction and killing
of Reserved Officers Training Corps cadet Mark Welson Chua
last year.
The
new suspects are Arnulfo Aparri Jr., Eliseo Pitarque Jr.,
and Emmanuel Rico Corpuz.
NBI
investigators, however, declined to speculate on the role
each of the three played in the Chua murder. They only said
that the suspects were there when Chua was abducted and perhaps
killed.
But
according to an article in the December issue of the UST paper
Varsitarian, witnesses saw the new suspects either guarding
or disposing Chua's body.
An
NBI source said the bureau is also considering the inclusion
of two of the new suspects in the witness protection program,
as their testimonies are "potential useful".
The
source said the two have been offered to apply as state witnesses.
The
same source said one of the suspects earlier charged for Chua's
murder may soon be cleared, as the witnesses who implicated
him have retracted their statements.
Genesis
Binagatan, who was charged in April with murder, was allegedly
seen by two witnesses as among those who dumped Chua's body
in the Pasig River near the Central Post Office.
The
source said the witnesses who implicated Binagatan have retracted
their statements last year and went home to their respective
provinces for no apparent reason.
The
NBI is pushing for the extradition of another suspect, Michael
Von Rainhard Manangbao, who reportedly fled to the United
States in October.
Chua's
father Welson said that when he talked to members of Manangbao's
family, the suspect had already left for the United States.
Other
ROTC cadets linked to the crime are Paul Joseph Tan and Eduardo
Tabrilla.
|
