Cops mine ex-NBI agent’s phone records for clues

Could a phone call have signaled the end of John Herra?

Police are now looking into the phone records of the controversial former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agent as witnesses said he received a phone call before he was shot dead on Saturday morning.

Herra, who also served as a bodyguard to Vizconde massacre witness Jessica Alfaro, was shot several times as he was working out at the Republic of Fitness gym in Makati City.

The unidentified gunman who was listed in the gym’s logbook as “Jun” had pretended to be a first-time visitor. At one point, he even asked Herra for help on working with weights, Makati police chief Senior Supt. Manuel Lukban said.

Lukban said the gunman may have been “confirming” the identity of Herra during the workout session.

From this, the police chief surmised that the gunman was a hired killer. “Based on our [investigation], Herra and our suspect did not know each other. [Herra] was targeted,” he added.

Witnesses said the gunman had already changed clothes when the victim stepped away from the weights to answer a call on his cell phone.

While Herra was preoccupied, the gunman took out a .45-cal. pistol from a paper bag and shot him. Lukban said the phone call may have served as a “go signal” for the shooter.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Galicia, chief of the NBI Reaction, Arrest and Interdiction Division, which was tasked to handle the case, said they were still looking into possible motives for the killing.

“The agents are now gathering evidence and talking to assets in the area. There are leads in the investigation but we can’t talk about these right now,” he said.—With Erika Sauler and Alex Austria, trainee