Widow accuses Chavit of planning husband’s slay

Ilocos Sur Governor Luis “Chavit" Singson was accused Wednesday of allegedly master-minding the ambush-slay of a state auditor from Ilocos Sur, who reportedly discovered anomalies in the expenditure of provincial funds. Evelyn Rulla-Chan, widow of auditor Agustin Chan Jr, said she and her children went to the trial of former president Joseph Estrada at the Sandiganbayan to “appeal to the conscience of Singson who was also there. Mrs. Chan met with reporters during the break for lunch of the Estrada trial. Members of the defense panel accompanied the widow during the break. “We hope we would soon get justice for the death of our beloved," Mrs. Chan said. Agustin Chan Jr, Ilocos Sur provincial auditor, and his driver Alex Recacho, were killed in an ambush by still unidentified armed men in Paing, Bantay, Ilocos Sur on October 4, 2001. The auditor at that time was reportedly pressuring Singson to submit an audit report of the expenditure of Ilocos Sur’s tobacco excise tax funds. Earlier investigation conducted by the provincial Commission on Audit found that Singson allegedly diverted the funds to his personal accounts. The Chan family and concerned groups in Ilocos Sur have accused Singson of masterminding the killing of the provincial auditor. They have reportedly provided the police with affidavits, documents and other leads to solve the killing, but the police and the National Bureau of Investigation have allegedly not acted on Chan’s case. The provincial auditor could have been a prime witness in the Estrada trial, said Rene Saguisag, lead counsel of Estrada’s defense panel. Chan could knowingly testify about Singson’s alleged misuse of provincial funds, particularly from the controversial tobacco excise tax funds, Saguisag added. Singson alleged that Estrada asked him to cover up the paper trail on the P130-million tobacco excise tax funds; P70 million of which the Chavit claimed was given to the former president. Singson denied the allegations of the Chan’s family, saying his accusers should better leave the matter to authorities. -GMANews.TV