PNP: Informant in Pampanga couple slay can become state witness

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo —INQUIRER.net /Faith Argosino

MANILA, Philippines — The still unnamed individual who told authorities everything he knew about the killing of beauty pageant candidate Geneva Lopez and her Israeli boyfriend, Yitshak Cohen, could become a state witness in the ongoing investigation on the case, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Tuesday.

But before this, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said a criminal complaint must be filed against this individual before he gets discharged to become a state witness.

READ: PNP readies murder raps vs killers of Pampanga couple

Among other things, Fajardo revealed that this witness admitted to driving the burned Nissan Terra sport utility vehicle (SUV) found along the Capas-San Jose Road in Cristo Rey village last June 22.

“It’s one of the considerations because the information he gave contributed significantly to the discovery of the bodies, and he also admitted that one of the persons of interest instructed him to drive the car that was later burned,” the PNP official said.

“If you’re asking if he can be discharged, we are still reviewing the procedure, but a case needs to be forwarded first before we can file a motion to discharge him so he can become a state witness,” she added.

Fajardo said the special investigation task group “Genesaac” already provided security for the key witness, who “knows many things” about the case.

Aside from this, Fajardo also disclosed that they had already identified two at large persons of interest linked to the death of the couple.

These two are among the seven individuals reportedly involved in the killing of Lopez and Cohen.

Two of the seven were former police officers—Michael Angelo Guiang and Rommel Abuzo—now main suspects in the case for allegedly shooting the couple over a land dispute.

Guiang and Abuza were patrolmen assigned to Angeles City police at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The two were dismissed from service after they went absent without leave.

The other POI apprehended was later identified as Jeffrey Santos, a civilian.

Last July 6, the PNP said the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) announced that the CIDG and Tarlac police recovered the dead bodies of Lopez and Cohen in a quarry site in Barangay Sta. Lucia in Capas town in Tarlac province two weeks after the couple disappeared on June 21.

On Monday, CIDG chief Maj. Gen. Leo Francisco said they are coordinating with the National Bureau of Investigation to solidify the case and file two counts of murder against Guiang and Abuzo in the coming days.