Monday, June 16, 2008 Radaza frowns on reward offer for tips on Sison mastermind
EXCEPT for the Sison family, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza said he is more interested than anyone else in the quick solution of the killing of lawyer Richard “Dick” Sison.
His family lawyer was also his close friend since childhood.
However, he said, putting up a reward has become a tradition but has not helped crack most of big criminal cases in the country.
Aside from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the PNP that have jointly focused on the case, it is also “the civil duty of every citizen” to help authorities solve a crime if they know anything about it, said Radaza, a former law enforcement officer.
Both he and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña wanted the NBI to uncover the motive behind Sison’s killing and the mastermind, following the arrest of alleged gunman Nemuel Sumabong Tuesday last week in Sitio Purok 8, Barangay Camputhaw in Cebu City.
Reward
But Osmeña said he thought Radaza lacked interest because he did not offer a cash reward for anyone that can help solve the crime.
The NBI has three witnesses, two male and a female, that pointed to Sumabong as the gunman. They omitted their home addresses in their separate sworn statements for fear of reprisal.
The driver of the getaway motorcycle remains at large.
Vice Mayor Mario Amores confirmed that two days after Sison was killed at the corner of V. Sotto and M.J Cuenco Sts. in Cebu City last May 21, Lapu-Lapu City Attorney Vincent Joseph Lim recommended to Radaza a cash reward to help speed up the solution of the case.
But approval of the request was thwarted by the killing of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7 agent Pricillano Gingoyon Jr. in Basak, Lapu-Lapu last May 23 and the death of Remedio Dungog, one of Radaza’s trusted employees. Dungog died in the crossfire during a robbery on two adjacent jewelry shops in Carbon Market, Cebu City last May 24.
“I learned about the request, but it has to be a collegial decision. We in the council will just wait for the mayor’s action. It’s his endorsement we need in order to approve a reward. We can’t decide on this on our own,” Amores said. (AIV)
