Cops charged over Abra exec’s ambush

The NBi headquarters in Manila. (Photo from Facebook)

The National Bureau of Investigation on Thursday filed murder charges against ranking police officials over the death of the security aide of Pilar, Abra, Vice Mayor Jaja Josefina Disono last month. NBI officer in charge Eric Distor said that among those charged were Police Brig. Gen. Ronald Lee, Cordillera regional director; Col. Maly Cula, acting provincial director of the Abra Provincial Police Office; and several other local police officials. According to Distor, the investigation stemmed from the complaint filed by Pilar Mayor Mark Roland Somera and his sister Disono; and the sister of the victim, Sandee Boy Bermudo. The NBI said their investigation showed that police deliberately fired at Disono’s convoy under the guise of conducting a legitimate checkpoint along Berona Street in Pilar. The suspects claimed to have received information on a group of armed men roaming around Pilar on board a white Toyota Hi-Ace with unknown licensed plate number. However, the NBI said that based on closed-circuit television footages, there was no visible checkpoint in the area around the time the police officers claimed there was. The police officials were also slapped with perjury and incriminating an innocent person charges, the NBI said. —TINA G. SANTOS

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