Gatdula shows up, tells of death threat

Former National Bureau of Investigation Director Magtanggol Gatdula. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) chief Magtanggol Gatdula finally showed up at the Manila Regional Trial Court on Wednesday to testify on his petition for a writ of amparo over threats to his life.

While the juiciest parts of his testimony were revealed only in closed chambers with Branch 26 Judge Silvino Pampilo,  Gatdula was able to reveal in open court that the “sensitive information” that led him to believe that his life was at risk came from intelligence officers of the Philippine National Police.

The Office of the Solicitor General, representing the respondents, remained unimpressed with Gatdula’s testimony. They asked Pampilo to dismiss Gatdula’s petition outright, claiming insubstantial evidence.

Gatdula last February 27 filed a petition for a writ of amparo to restrain Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, NBI officer in charge Nonnatus Rojas and NBI deputy director for technical services Reynaldo Esmeralda from threatening his life and liberty.

Gatdula claimed De Lima and the NBI were about to name him as the mastermind of an ambush attempt on Esmeralda last February 21. He said De Lima and Esmeralda were “implicitly” holding him responsible for the ambush after they theorized that the ambush could have been related to the Noriyo Ohara kidnapping case, in which Gatdula is one of the accused.