DOJ asked to file murder raps vs ex-Leyte solon
TACLOBAN CITY, LEYTE, Philippines — The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) has urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to file a murder case against former Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso III and his five alleged accomplices for the killing of a village leader in 2016.
Police Lt. Col. Jessie Misal, deputy chief of the CIDG’s Major Crimes Investigation Unit, submitted the letter to Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla on Jan. 22, requesting the DOJ to take “appropriate action” against Veloso and the other respondents for the murder of Anthony Nuñez.
“The murder of Nuñez was politically motivated. Veloso, the mastermind, targeted Nuñez because of the latter’s support for his political rival,” read the letter of the CIDG, which investigated the case.
READ: Ex-Leyte congressman tagged in 2016 barangay councilor’s killing
Nuñez, a councilor of Barangay Manlawan, Tabango town, Leyte, was gunned down inside a cockpit on Jan. 23, 2016.
READ: Ex-CA justice Veloso challenges Gomez in Leyte congressional bid
Aside from Veloso, also tagged in the death of Nuñez were Nicolas Banez, William Languido, Richan Pernis, Edwin Comendador, and Edwin Mulle.
‘Mere piece of paper’
In a news conference on Jan. 25, Veloso told reporters that the CIDG’s letter to the DOJ was nothing but a “mere piece of paper” with no legal bearing.
“I am a lawyer. Why would I resort to killings? I could have just filed cases against my enemies,” he said.
Veloso, a former Court of Appeals justice, ran and won as representative of Leyte’s third district during the May 2016 elections against then reelectionist Andres Salvacion when the accusations against him surfaced.
Veloso is again running for congressman in the midterm elections this coming May, this time in Leyte’s fourth district, against reelectionist Rep. Richard Gomez.
Veloso argued that under the Rules of Criminal Procedure, a complaint must be sufficient in both form and substance.
“Sufficiency must at least indicate the private complainant against the respondents who are warm bodies because the function of a preliminary investigation under the Rules of Criminal Procedure is to bring about the issuance of a warrant of arrest,” he explained.
He noted that three of the named respondents—Banez, Comendador, and Mulle—were already dead.
He also denied knowing the other respondents, saying that at the time of the incident, he had just retired as a justice of the Court of Appeals and had no reason to hire individuals like Pernis and Languido.
But the CIDG said it has secured extrajudicial confessions of Pernis and Languido, who reportedly admitted their roles in the crime and identified Veloso as the mastermind.
According to their confessions, Veloso allegedly orchestrated the murder of Nuñez, who was a political supporter of the former congressman’s rival, the CIDG said.
Pernis and Languido claimed Banez was the gunman while they served as lookouts and getaway motorcycle drivers.
