The Quezon City police on Tuesday called on businessman Domingo “Sandy” de Guzman III—the alleged mastermind in the killing of racing champ Enzo Pastor—to give himself up to authorities and not wait for them to capture him.
According to Chief Insp. Rodelio Marcelo, chief of the Quezon City Police District’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (QCPD-CIDU), “any officer of the law” would now be able to arrest De Guzman after the judge handling the murder case against him issued a warrant for his arrest.
In an omnibus order dated Aug. 5, Judge Luisito Cortez of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 85 ordered De Guzman’s arrest and also dismissed his motion to defer the proceedings against him until the Department of Justice has ruled on the accused’s petition for review.
At the same, Cortez issued a hold-departure order against Dalia, Pastor’s wife, who is facing a parricide case.
According to a witness, De Guzman and Dalia were lovers and plotted to have the racing champ killed.
“This shows that the court is convinced that there is probable cause against [De Guzman],” Enrique de la Cruz, a private prosecution lawyer, told reporters after Tuesday’s court hearing.
“We’re happy, we’ve been waiting for the issuance of the warrant of arrest against Sandy. The arrest warrant against Dalia was issued earlier,” De la Cruz said.
Pastor’s parents attended the hearing where eye witness Paulo Salazar—the racing champ’s aide—was cross-examined by the defense in connection with the petition for bail filed by another accused, alleged gunman PO2 Edgar Angel.
Pastor was shot and killed by a man on a motorcycle in June 2014 at the corner of Congressional and Visayas Avenues in Quezon City while he was driving to a car racing competition in Pampanga province. With him at that time was Salazar.
Tom Pastor, the racing champ’s father, urged De Guzman and Dalia to surrender and face the justice system.
According to De la Cruz, the issuance of the arrest warrant against De Guzman was delayed because of the appearance of new lawyers and the filing of several motions.
In the omnibus order, the court also accepted the prosecution’s amended information to include the complicity of De Guzman and Dalia as Angel’s coconspirators.
De Guzman’s motion to defer the proceedings against him and Dalia’s motion for partial deferment were both denied.
The police, meanwhile, said that based on their monitoring, “there is no record that [Dalia] is still here in the Philippines.” Earlier, Marcelo said they had information that Pastor’s widow left the country last year.
De Guzman, on the other hand, remained in the country. According to Marcelo, the businessman continues to go home to BF Homes Parañaque, still runs his auto shop and attends the hearings in the illegal possession of firearms case filed against him in a Muntinlupa court. This was after he posted bail on the charge and was released from police custody on Sept. 2.