Saturday, August 30, 2008 Vendor tags suspects in killing of broadcaster
A BALUT vendor identified one of the remaining suspects in the killing of a broadcaster in Aklan Province.
It took vendor Gerson Sonio three and a half years to come forward and testify against Amador Raz and Jessie Ticar, saying he feared for his life and his family’s safety.
But during yesterday’s hearing, he pointed to Raz as one of the killers of Rolando Ureta, who was fatally shot last Jan. 3, 2001.
Ticar died last May 2, leaving Raz to appear at the murder trial alone.
Sonio said he saw Raz driving the motorcycle with Ticar, who shot Ureta three times. Ureta was program director of Radio Mindanao Network in Aklan.
While the incident happened in January 2001 yet, it was only in February 2004 when Sonio revealed to a non-family member what he witnessed.
Sonio told his wife and father about the incident at least a week after Ureta’s death.
While Sonio’s wife kept him from reporting the matter to the police, his father encouraged him to do so.
But Sonio’s narration of the event only became formal on Sept. 23, 2004, when he signed an affidavit before the Aklan Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.
He was assisted by a close friend, Jerome Vega, who was also an announcer for radio dyKR.
State Prosecutor Hazel Valdes asked Sonio why it took him more than three years to finally testify in court.
“Natatakot po ako (I was afraid),” said Sonio. But he changed his mind after Vega prodded him to reveal what he knows about the incident.
Sonio was also asked about an affidavit that his father Perlito filed before the Aklan Provincial Prosecutor’s Office, which stated that Sonio could not have witnessed the Ureta killing in Aklan because he was in Iloilo City on the night it happened.
But Sonio said that his father later said that he could not testify against his son.
The direct examination, which lasted until noon, will resume on Sept. 15.
The prosecution panel is composed of Valdes and State Prosecutors Theodore Villanueva and Leo Dacera as head.
Raz is represented by lawyer Ferdinand Marcos. (JGA)
