Sandy de Guzman during his arraignment Thursday in a Quezon City court, where he refused to enter a plea. ERIKA SAULER
The judge hearing the murder case against Domingo “Sandy” de Guzman—the alleged mastermind in the killing of racing champ Enzo Pastor—denied his petition to remain in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation.
READ: Enzo Pastor slay suspect, Sandy de Guzman, wants to stay at NBI
In a ruling on Thursday, Judge Luisito Cortez of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 85 ordered De Guzman moved to the Metro Manila District Jail in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City.
The judge said it would save time and government resources to keep De Guzman in that jail since his co-accused, the alleged gunman P02 Edgar Angel, is also detained there.
Assisted by counsel Dennis Manalo, De Guzman refused to enter a plea during his arraignment also on Thursday, prompting the judge to enter a plea of not guilty on his behalf.
Manalo requested an off-the-record chamber meeting with the opposing counsel after the commitment order was issued in open court.
The businessman, brought into the courtroom by NBI agents, was seated behind Pastor’s parents during the proceedings.
“I just can’t stand being in the same room [with him] but I want to see him arraigned. I have mixed emotions,” Enzo’s mother Remy said.
She reiterated her call for Enzo’s widow, Dalia Guerrero-Pastor, to face the parricide case against her. Dalia is accused of conspiring with De Guzman, her rumored lover, to have her husband killed in an ambush at a Quezon City intersection on the night of June 12, 2014.
“As the wife, I’ll be the first one to look for my husband’s killer. If she’s innocent, why is she hiding?” Remy Pastor said.
The Interpol recently put out a red notice for Dalia who has yet to surface following the filing of a case against her. The red notice authorizes Interpol-member countries to locate and arrest her for possible extradition or similar lawful action.
The court also ordered the jail warden to keep De Guzman and Angel in separate detention cells.
The hearing on De Guzman’s bail petition will be merged with Angel’s bail hearing, the court added.
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