Ting family: Go after the mastermind

EVEN after the arrest of the suspected gunman in the June 22, 2010, killing of Cebu hotelier Manuel Ting, his children said the case should be further investigated.

Two of his five children said the case isn’t closed until law enforcers get the mastermind behind their father’s death.

“The case isn’t solved yet. Whoever committed the crime  should be held answerable. If this is the fate of an influential man, how much more the chances of justice of those who  are underprivileged?” said one of Ting’s children in an interview at the family’s hotel last week.

The Ting siblings, who asked not to be named for privacy,   expressed dismay at the slow pace of the trial against Roel Velez, the man  accused of shooting their father.

They said the family is seeking  the re-raffling of the case to another court because the case stalled after Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Gabriel Ingles of Branch 58 was appointed to the Court of Appeals.

Velez’s lawyer Democrito Barcenas agreed: “We are also dismayed. He (Velez) is a detention prisoner. We want a speedy trial.”

The Tings said they have at least five witnesses ready to testify against Velez.

Ting, the founding owner  Cebu Parklane International Hotel, was alone  driving his car home about 6 p.m. when he was gunned down along barangay Tisa, Cebu City.

Police found several witnesses who pointed to Velez as the gunman./REPORTER ADOR VINCENT S. MAYOL