Davao police: Revenge by murder victims’ families unlikely

DAVAO CITY, Philippines - Police on Friday downplayed fears that the families of the two victims killed by a scion of a prominent family in the city would take revenge instead of seeking for justice. In an interview Thursday, Davao City police director Jaime Morente said it would be counterproductive for the victims' families to take matters into their hands considering that the suspect has already been identified and is now being hunted by authorities. He said that the best thing the aggrieved families could to do is cooperate with the police in the investigation, especially on the filing of the murder charge against Ken Alder Villa-Abrille Lelis. Morente added that they have a hard time getting the victims' families to sign the complaint affidavit for the filing of the murder charge. Uncooperative Morente said the Villa-Abrilles have not been cooperative with the police investigation. He claimed they already sent their investigators to the suspect's family but they did not get much information and there was no indication they are willing to cooperate. Rumors flew thick and fast that the suspect has already flown to Macau. Authorities have no confirmation on this yet. Effort to confirm the rumor from immigration authorities and police proved futile as of Friday. Not in Bakbak The owner of Bakbak Bar and Restaurant clarified that gruesome murder of two young men last week happened near the Angel Funeral parlor along F. Torres Street and not inside the bar in Prime Square complex. Rosselle Barco said the victims and the suspects had a drinking session in another establishment within the Prime Square complex where Bakbak is located along with other restobars. She added that the shooting happened outside Prime Square, near the funeral parlor, where the victims' vehicle was parked. Barco said they wanted to clarify matters as the incident has greatly affected their business, especially that their names are constantly dragged into the incident due to reports naming their establishment as the crime scene. Federico Barco, father of Rosselle, said some customers have stopped going to their bar due to the erroneous reports. He said they just wanted to clear the name of Bakbak from any involvement in the shooting incident as he assured their customers that security is their prime concern. Bakbak is one of the many establishments inside Prime Square, but the entire complex is commonly referred to as Bakbak by many people as it is the most popular and one of the first establishments that started operation inside the complex. Aside from its cheap price, Bakbak is also known for its "freezing-cold beer" that was featured in national television and papers. - Sun.Star Davao