Cops fail to secure CCTV footage of BuCor legal exec slay

FEBRUARY 19, 2020
Former Bucor Legal Chief Atty. Fredric Anthony Santos lies dead on the driver’s seat of his vehicle after an ambush infront of Southernside Montessori along Katihan bridge in Muntinlupa. INQUIRER photo / EDWIN BACASMAS

MANILA, Philippines — There is no new lead that can crack the murder case of a Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) official as police investigators failed to secure a CCTV footage of the killing.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Maj. Gen. Debold Sinas explained on Friday that the CCTV cameras in the area, where BuCor legal service chief Atty. Fredrick Anthony Santos was slain, were not functional.

The dashboard camera on Santos’ car, which was placed at the front, was also not able to record the incident since the suspects approached the vehicle at the driver’s side.

“‘Yung mga CCTV sa area na kinanvass ng police namin are not functional at hindi gumagana. Pina-identify po namin ‘yun at tinanong bakit nilagay pa yung CCTV na hindi  naman gumagana,” Sinas said in a press conference on Friday.

(The CCTVs in the area are not functional. We have asked why the CCTVs were installed when they are not working.)

The NCRPO has already formed a special investigation task group to investigate Santos’ murder. As of writing time, Sinas said there is no person of interest, thus far, that can be linked to the crime.

The police are also coordinating with the BuCor official’s family in efforts to establish the identity of the perpetrators and at the same time reconstruct the incident.

They are also looking into the controversy behind the Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) program as a possible jump-off point that could trigger the killing, Sinas said.

“So far, ‘yung tinitingnan nila ay yung dating kaso ni Atty. Santos, ‘yung GCTA. ‘Yun ‘yung latest na case niya at ‘yun ang cause kung bakit siya na-suspend at kung sino ang mga involved doon. We are checking sa angle na ‘yun kung sino ang nag-benefit sa pagkapatay ni Atty. Santos,” he said.

Santos was gunned down by unidentified men in Brgy. Poblacion, Muntinlupa City at 1:50 p.m. on Wednesday.

Edited by JPV