Only 1 of 5 suspects in OFW slay shows up for probe
The family and friends of the slain Gino Basas (left) attend Wednesday’s preliminary investigation, where only one of the five suspects, Earl Brian Grande, showed up. —PHOTOS BY RHYAN JOSEPH DY, JHESSET ENANO
One of the college students tagged in the fatal mauling of an overseas Filipino worker outside a Quezon City bar last month surfaced on Wednesday for the preliminary investigation.
Earl Brian Grande, reportedly from the University of the East, presented himself at the first hearing before Senior Assistant City Prosecutor Gibson Araula Jr., submitting a counteraffidavit and accompanied by a lawyer and his mother.
Tension rose between the suspect and the family and friends of the slain Abigail Gino Basas. Present were Basas’ parents, Agapito and Gina, as well as his two companions Lloyd Melvin Lisondra and Marco de Leon who were also assaulted by Grande’s group.
Only the lawyers of two other suspects, Jameel Benito and Cyril Angelo Rada, showed up for the hearing.
Two more suspects, Mohammad Taher Piti-Ilan and Angelo Mark Morata did not attend.
Piti-Ilan is considered the primary suspect in the March 4 incident in a vacant lot on Scout Dr. Lazcano Street. The students ganged up on Basas and his friends reportedly after Basas bumped Piti-Ilan by accident inside the bar.
Frederick Mikhail Farolan, legal counsel of the Basas family, said his client had a strong case and “I think the fight now is whether this case will be classified as murder or homicide. I’ve reviewed the evidence and it is clear that this is a murder.”
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PHOTO COURTESY OF QUEZON CITY POLICE DISTRICT
Grande and his lawyer refused to be interviewed.
Farolan said the suspect claimed in his sworn statement that he was not part of the group who attacked Basas and that he was “a few days” from turning 18 at the time of the incident.
“He admitted he was there but he never mentioned any attempt to stop the mauling,” Farolan said. “Even a minor above 15 years old but below 18—(and) who acted with discernment—can be criminally penalized.”
The security camera footage that captured the incident, as well as eyewitness accounts, “would clearly show that he and the other suspects knew the consequences of their actions,” he added.
