3 persons of interest cleared in killing of Grab driver; 4 more probed

Police cleared on Tuesday the three persons of interest who were allegedly the last persons picked up by slain Grab driver Gerardo Maquidato Jr.

Supt. Gene Licud, assistant chief of police for operations, said the three persons of interest were invited to Pasay police to execute affidavits clearing their names on Monday night. Two of them were from Makati, while the other was from Batangas province.

The three were all aircon technicians who booked a GrabCar driven by Maquidato on Oct. 26 from their workplace in San Juan to Doña Noneng Street in Pasay.

In their affidavit, the trio said they found “nothing peculiar” on Maquidato, who successfully dropped them off at 7:14 p.m. Licud said another closed-circuit footage confirmed this.

Licud said, however, another four persons of interest were being investigated stemming from Maquidato’s three canceled Grab bookings, whose pick-up points were all in Pasay.

“After dropping the passengers on Doña Noneng, Maquidato was booked for three more transactions which were all canceled. We have a good hunch that these four could provide answers in this case,” he noted.

Maquidato was found dead at a pavement at 7:50 p.m. on Bonanza Street — about 5 kilometers from Doña Noneng — in Barangay 189, Don Carlos Revilla Village.

He sustained a lone gunshot wound from the back of his head which exited through his left eye.

A witness said a passenger — considered the primary suspect — of Maquidato’s silver Toyota Innova (with conduction sticker YV 7109) embarked from the backseat and dumped his body at the pavement of the street.

The suspect then took the streering wheel of the Innova and escaped on Cessna Street.

Licud said they had not yet recovered Maquidato’s car but had already leads on its whereabouts, through coordination with the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group’s Task Force Limbas.

Grab had announced a P100,000 reward to anyone who could provide information on Maquidato’s killer.

Maquidato’s act of kindness to a sickly passenger went viral last year, earning him recognition as one of Grab’s best driver-partners. /je