Store CCTV operator appears before NBI

Jeffrey Aquino got an unpleasant surprise on his 32nd birthday last Monday after he heard that he was being pinned down anew in the death of suspected shoplifter, Mario Alfie Ducayag.

Aquino, a former security camera operator of Gaisano Metro Colon, yesterday appeared before the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) to clear his name.

“Wala gayud akoy gibating kalipay karon. Grabeng kaguol ang akong nasinati. (I have not been happy even as I celebrated my birthday. I am completely sad),” he told reporters.

He insisted that he is innocent of the crime and claimed that it was the store’s chief security officer, Mauricio Doblados Jr., who mauled Ducayag after he failed to show a cash receipt for a pair of sandals he allegedly stashed in his bag last Apr. 12. Aquino, a native of Pinamungahan town, western Cebu said he is willing to tell everything and prove his innocence.

“I’m ready to help the family in its quest for justice. I don’t intend to run away from this case. All I want is justice for Alfie,” he said in Cebuano.

‘Tell the truth’

Aquino urged Doblados to tell the truth and not to continue accusing him of killing Ducayag.

Aquino and Ducayag’s family met at the lobby of the NBI-7 just as he was about to leave the office.

“I lost my son. But I know those who killed my son are capable of changing their lives. I don’t want to hurt your parents as well,” a teary-eyed Soledad told Aquino.