Tuesday, February 05, 2008 Group ready to assist kin in Wal murder By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
IF NOTHING results from an ongoing police investigation on the recent murder of Saint Louis University (SLU) graduating student Jude Wal II, then the Cordillera People's Liberation Army (CPLA) has reportedly volunteered to "take matters into their own hands."
This was disclosed last Monday by a reliable source close to the bereaved family of Wal, who asked not to be named, for reasons of propriety.
The father and namesake of the victim, Jude Sr., claimed he knows who masterminded the murder of his eldest son.
He said the mastermind in his son's murder had "an axe to grind" against him and made sure his son was the one murdered, instead of him, to maximize the grief of the family.
"We just pray a thorough investigation of this case will be conducted by the police to bring justice to his death," Wal Sr. pointed out, after the cremation of his son last Wednesday.
However, the source revealed that Jude Sr., "who had assisted the CPLA in the development process and in the integration of some of its members into the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)," was contacted by a ranking official of the CPLA, who volunteered to conduct their own investigation on the case.
"But the director (Wal Sr.) turn down the CPLA's offer, saying the official police investigation must be allowed to proceed so the rule of law will be upheld," the source continued.
Wal Sr., as a director of the defunct Cordillera Executive Board, served as an adviser to the CPLA since 1988.
The family, relatives and close friends of Wal Jr. participated in a 'senga,' which his father described as "an indigenous Kankanaey ritual aimed at bringing justice to (his) son's senseless killing."
"We hope that after this ritual, the gunman will come out into the open and reveal the identity of the person who ordered him to kill my son," Wal Sr. said.
Wal Jr., who just turned 21-years-old five days before he was murdered, was cremated at the Heaven's Garden Memorial Park in Irisan afterward. He was supposed to graduate in two months.
The victim was shot down at M. Roxas Street at 6:45 a.m. of January 25.
A senior investigator of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) said police have discounted the possibility his murder was due to gang violence because the victim was not a member of any youth gang or fraternity. He could not have been killed because of love because he parted amicably with his last girlfriend two years ago.
