Police build case vs Pasal attack brains

By LITO RULONA
Correspondent

 CITY police director Faro Antonio Olaguera yesterday said a special team of police officers has been tasked to start profiling the suspected brains behind the two attempts on the life of regional Judge Emmanuel Pasal Jr., and to speed up the case build-up so the suspect could be charged in court.

Senior Supt. Olaguera said this a day after a group of gunmen exploded a crude bomb on Pasal’s car and fired shots at it in Upper Puerto while the judge and his group were on their way to Malaybalay City in Bukidnon.

Pasal, the presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court Branch 37 here, also serves as acting presiding judge of a regional court in Malaybalay where he is hearing a drug case.

Authorities have theorized that the Puerto ambush on Thursday morning, and the gun attack on Pasal in April were the handiwork of the same group.

Olaguera however admitted that the police have yet to gather enough evidence against the suspected mastermind.

“I can categorically say that wala pa gyud ta’y strong holding or evidence sa nakita nato nga positive suspect with a very strong motive nga himoun niya to kang Judge Pasal,” Olaguera said.

Following the ambush near Puerto Heights the other day, Olaguera immediately formed a special investigation task force. He asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and other law enforcement agencies for help.

“We have come up with a collective analysis and assessment–the latest incident had the same motive and the same suspect. I hope, soon, masulbad nato tungod kay sa pagka-karon kay naa naman suspect,” he said.

Olaguera sent members of the special police team to Malaybalay City yesterday for a case build-up.

“After this, we can initiate the filing of a complaint against the suspect before the City Prosecutor’s Office. We want to make sure that we could make our case stand judicial scrutiny,” he said.

Pasal, according to Olaguera, also has the same suspect in mind.

Olaguera said the police would tighten Pasal’s security. When Pasal travels outside the city, he said, the judge would have a security convoy “kay dili na kita mag-kumpyansa ani.”

He added: “Dili na kita magpa-abot sa ika-tulo.”

City prosecutor Fidel Macauyag said he hoped police would speed up their work on the Pasal case so that it can be filed in court the soonest possible.

“Kung duna nay evidence, and identified na ang suspect, they can file the case immediately,” Macauyag said.