De Lima wants deeper probe into missing woman found in septic tank

MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said she would order the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to thoroughly investigate the death of a Filipino-Chinese woman whose body was found a month after she disappeared inside a septic tank in San Pedro, Laguna.

“We need to dig deeper to know more. I will ask the NBI to conduct an investigation to find out although the suspects are already undergoing preliminary investigation,” De Lima told reporters.

Facing criminal complaint for the death of Leah Angeles-Ng include Police Superintendent Rommel Miranda, former spokesman of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) and now deputy chief of the Communication and Electronics (Comel) Service of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Region 7  based in Cebu City, and Police Officers 1 Otelio Santos Jr. and Jifford Signap from Laguna.

“Bakit hindi naisama sa kaso yung mga tao na andoon sa warehouse na supposedly nagtatawanan pa bago ilagay sa septic tank (Why those people who were in the warehouse and were supposedly laughing while she’s being placed in the septic tank were not charged),” she added.

De Lima also said that she would ask Interior and Local Government Secretary Jess Robredo to place Miranda under restricted custody because “if a police officer is implicated in a crime, they should be placed under restricted custody [but] according to the family of the victims, the suspects are still free.”

Miranda and the two others were implicated by former policeman Reginal Santiago who led investigators to the warehouse to recover Ng’s body.

De Lima issued the statement after the relatives of the victim sought the DOJ chief’s help.

Ng disappeared on January 20 and found dead 32 days later. Her relatives believed that her death was due to a debt collection worth P13 million which Miranda allegedly wanted to keep for himself.