Ex-cop in Illustrisimo slay wants to clear name

The alleged gunman of a Cebu mayoral candidate who was shot dead days before the May 14 elections on Thursday showed up at the Department of Justice to clear his name and prove his innocence in the crime. Arnulfo Pigon said he decided to come out after he was tagged as suspect in the May 2 killing of Sta. Fe mayoral bet Rogelio Illustrisimo. Pigon, a former police officer 1 and allegedly an operative of the Special Weapons and Tactics in Mandaue City, said he also learned that certain individuals have put a price on his head to guarantee his silence, as well as a "shoot-to-kill" order by the police. "Gusto ko lang magbigay ng pahayag ko na hindi ako ang pumatay (I swear I am not the killer)," Pigon said in Filipino. Pigon was turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation. He urged the NBI to dig deeper into the case and find the real perpetrators. Pigon said at the time the attack he was with his relatives in Cupang, Antipolo, where he has been staying since 2004. He said he only heard that he was a suspect in Ilustrisimo's killing last May 9. He said this was not the first time that he was implicated in attempts to assassinate certain Cebu politicians. He claimed that in 2004, a friend of his offered him a job as bodyguard of a certain Dianne Seachon, who had ran as congresswoman of Masbate, but he turned the offer down because he did not want to get involved in politics. The next day, Seachon was ambushed, but she survived the attack. However, Pigon said he was forced to go into hiding after he learned that he was being tagged as suspect in the ambush. He said he is also willing to undergo a lie detector test to prove his innocence, even as he expressed hope that another investigation would be conducted by the NBI, saying that he has more faith in the bureau. Pigon feels that the PNP’s investigation and his subsequent naming as the gunman was a result of a hasty investigation. NBI Director Nestor Mantaring said that the bureau will continue to take Pigon under the NBI's custody until the case is resolved. Reports earlier said Pigon was identified by at least three witnesses as the gunman in Illustrismo's murder at the Capitol compound in front of the provincial office of the Comelec in Cebu City. Illustrisimo was to attend a hearing on a petition for disqualification filed by his opponent for the mayoral seat Sta. Fe Councilor Dominogo Zaspa when the incident occurred. - GMANews.TV