A former policeman who tagged three police officers, one of them the former spokesperson of the National Capital Region police, in the murder of a Chinese-Filipino businesswoman, is applying for protection under the government’s state witness program.
Reginal Regidor Santiago, 39, is seeking benefits under the Witness Protection Program of the Department of Justice (DOJ) after he blew the lid off the abduction and murder of Lea Angeles Ng. The woman disappeared in January and was found dead in a septic tank in a Laguna warehouse on February 23.
In a sworn statement, Santiago pointed to Superintendent Rommel Miranda and Police Officers 1 Otelio Santos Jr. and Jifford Signap as directly involved in the crime.
The PNP National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO)said it was up to the DOJ to decide whether Santiago would become a state witness. Miranda once served as spokesperson of the NCRPO.
Prime suspect, too
Superintendent Danilo Pecana, the current NCRPO spokesperson, said Santiago was also a prime suspect in the case which would be considered in his application to become a state witness.
“What I know from the law is if you’re applying as a state witness, you need to have the least participation in the case,” Pecana said.
“I don’t know how (DOJ) will handle Santiago’s application, but we will respect whatever decision will be reached,” he said.
“We will let the case run its course through the justice system,” he said.
The family of Ng has sought the help of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima amid fears of retribution as those involved in the case are police officers in active duty.
Meeting recalled
In his affidavit, Santiago said he, Miranda, Santos and Signap were at a meeting arranged by Miranda at a fast food restaurant in a subdivision in Quezon City on January 20.
At the meeting place, Santiago said he saw Miranda in the passenger seat of a white Toyota Prado beside Ng, who was lying still.
Santiago said Miranda knew Ng because the police officer worked on the side as Ng’s debt collector. Ng, according to Santiago’s affidavit, was killed when she and Miranda fought over a P13-million collection that Miranda allegedly refused to turn over to Ng.
Santiago said he took part in disposing of Ng’s body with Santos and Signap.
In an interview with reporters, Santiago quoted Miranda as saying as he sat beside the body of Ng inside the Prado: “I’ve killed her already. You take care of dumping her. Just do it well.”
They took off in Ng’s Prado and dropped off Miranda somewhere on C-5 Road in Taguig City. They continued driving to Laguna where they found a place to dump Ng’s body.
Money as motive
Senior Superintendent Isagani Nerez, head of the PNP’s Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG), said the motive for the killing could be money. Ng, said Nerez, was involved in trucking and moneylending. He did not, however, say if Miranda was moonlighting for Ng.
Nerez said Miranda was restricted to camp at PNP headquarters in Camp Crame. Santos and Signap are in the custody of the San Pedro police office after they turned themselves in, Nerez said.
Charges had been filed by the AKG against the three police officers. Santiago is under the custody of AKG.
Before Santiago’s arrest, he, Santos and Signap were captured on CCTV boarding Ng’s Prado with license plate No. “JUS 77” that was abandoned at the parking lot of Walter Mart in Carmona, Cavite.