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DOJ continues probe into QC prosecutor’s murder


The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday continued its preliminary investigation into the murder of Quezon City prosecutor Rogelio Velasco last May.

During the hearing, the National Bureau of Investigation presented almost an hour's worth of CCTV footage taken at the Quezon Memorial Circle and in Quezon City's DOJ compound hours before Velasco was fatally shot on May 11, 2018.

Three policemen are accused of conspiring to murder the prosecutor. Two of them, Patrolman (formerly PO1) Jose Mercado and Police Staff Sergeant (formerly PO3) Arthur Lucy, have claimed they were in other places at the time of the shooting.

The third respondent, Police Senior Master Sergeant (formerly SPO2) Rodante Lalimarmo, said he was in the circle but was there to meet with a prospective car buyer.

Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Peter Ong ordered the policemen to submit manifestations in relation to the camera footage, which allegedly shows the three police officers, and directed the complainants to answer.

Velasco is one of at least 37 lawyers, prosecutors, and judges killed in the Philippines since the Duterte administration began, according to the count of the National Union of People's Lawyers.

An international delegation of lawyers that briefly conducted an inquiry into some of the incidents said they found "patterns suggesting a connection between the killings and the actions of the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines."

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the "very sweeping statement" should have been backed up by evidence before being made public. — BM, GMA News

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