NBI help sought in probe of ex-agent’s slay

The family of a former bodyguard of a controversial star witness to the Vizconde Massacre, who was shot dead by a man inside a gym in Makati City on Saturday, wants the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the killing.

“We have decided to go to the NBI headquarters and ask them to lead the investigation into my brother’s death. We only hope for justice. And we want the investigation to be impartial and speedy,” Jonna Herra, the victim’s only sibling, said in an interview.

John Herra, 45, an NBI special agent for more than 10 years, was fatally shot in the head and body inside the Republic Fitness gym in Barangay Bangkal, Makati.

The gunman casually walked away and was seen riding on a motorcycle afterwards.

Who would want Herra dead has remained a puzzle to his family and the police.

Herra, who acted as bodyguard of Jessica Alfaro, the star witness in the Visconde Massacre, got romantically involved with the latter. He never married and remained a bachelor.

Alfaro, a self-confessed drug addict, had implicated scions of wealthy  families, including Hubert Webb and six others, in the killings of the members of the Vizconde family. Webb and the others were convicted by the Parañaque Regional Trial Court in 2001.

Nine years later, the Supreme Court reversed the local court’s decision. Herra became part of the news when he claimed on television that Alfaro was a fake witness and a liar.

No connection

Jonna, however, said the suspicion that the Vizconde massacre case was connected to the killing of her brother was far-fetched. “That’s remote. It doesn’t seem connected,” she told the Inquirer in Filipino.

Herra had been involved in other sticky situations. According to his sister, Herra was dismissed for insubordination after Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile accused him of stealing his Mitsubishi Pajero in 1999. Enrile had claimed Herra was seen driving his Pajero to the NBI compound.

Herra was sacked after he failed to comply with an order from then NBI director Reynaldo Wycoco to produce the stolen vehicle.

“They had no proof that my brother was part of the group which stole the Pajero so there were no criminal charges filed,” Jonna said.

After he was fired, Herra began working “freelance” by serving as a middleman in the bidding of government contracts, Jonna said. “He brokered contracts for businessmen. I don’t know the details but I think these were big contracts and worth millions.”

Mistaken identity

Jonna said she never knew the people her brother was dealing with. “I could only overhear him talking to his business partners,” she said.

Herra’s sister said his arrest last year by the Makati’s Special Weapons and Tactics team could also be related to the killing. A team of uniformed SWAT men had surrounded Herra in Hizon Street in Barangay Bangkal while he was then parking his car a few meters from his home.

“He was ordered to lie flat on his stomach and kicked in the back while one policemen pointed his gun to his head,” she said.

He was released on that day after the police said it was a case of mistaken identity.

Jonna said she never knew the exact charges of the police against her brother. “They were suspecting him of carrying illegal objects, if drugs or weapons, I don’t know,” she said.

‘Many possibilities’

Chief Insp. Reycon Garduque of the Makati investigation unit, said they were exploring all angles in connection with the killing. “There are so many possibilities. We are trying to take into account everything,” Garduque said.

Garduque confirmed Herra was arrested last year but the investigators were still gathering details about that incident. With a report from Inquirer Research