Leviste charged with homicide for business buddy slay

The Makati City Prosecutors’ Office on Thursday filed homicide charges against former Batangas Governor Jose Antonio Leviste for the killing of his long-time business associate in Makati City almost a week ago. In an exclusive report of GMA News, Second Assistant City Prosecutor Henry Salazar filed the case before the Makati City Regional Trial Court. The case has been raffled to the court of Judge Elmo Alameda. Leviste, meanwhile, has posted a bail of P40,000 for his temporary liberty. Salazar, in his information sheet, cited police report that the victim, Rafael Delas Alas, was killed at around 12:30 p.m. of January 12 inside Leviste’s office on the ninth floor of the LPL Building in Legaspi Street, Legaspi Village. The sworn statement of one Nelia Gonzalez, executive assistant of Leviste, was also included in the information sheet. Gonzalez claimed that Delas Alas “had a handgun tucked [into] his waist [band]" when he arrived at the former governor’s office. She said she overheard the two arguing about money and business matters. The prosecutor also cited the sworn statements of lawyers Rex Raynaldo Sandoval and Dennis Amparo, who alleged “they heard successive gunshots" while they were at their office on the upper floor in the afternoon of January 12. The two went down to check and saw Leviste with victim. They said Leviste claimed the man tried to kill him. Salazar said there was no doubt that it was Leviste who shot Delas Alas because this fact has been admitted by the former governor. He insisted there was no “qualifying circumstances as provided for under Article 48 of the Revised Penal Code" that would qualify the crime as murder. Salazar said that murder could only qualify in the presence of the following factors: treachery; in consideration of a price, reward or promise; by means of fire, poison, explosion or shipwreck, among others; with evident premeditation; and with cruelty, deliberately and inhumanly augmenting the suffering of the victim, or outraging or scoffing at his person or corpse. “In the absence of any qualifying circumstance as provided for under Article 48 of the Revised Penal Code, the acts of the respondent is only constitutive of homicide," Salazar ruled. Lawyer Alfredo Lazaro, legal counsel of the Delas Alas family, said they would seek a reconsideration of the prosecutor’s decision and move for the upgrading of the charge to murder. “[They are rushing the homicide case] so we will have to file the corresponding motion before the courts and then we will now ask the intervention of the secretary of justice to conduct a new investigation into the case," he told GMA News in an exclusive interview. Dinna Delas Alas Sanchez said they expected the decision of the prosecutor. -GMANews.TV