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Thursday, November 04, 2004
Nida slay witnesses presented to media
By Benjamin B. Pulta
THREE "missing" witnesses in the Nida Blanca murder case were presented by justice officials Wednesday.
"I am not hiding. They can see me anytime," Roberto S. Canete, one of the three witnesses said.
Canete insisted the reason he went home to Cadiz City in Negros Occidental province because his father passed away last October 17 and he was forced to cut short his trip to go to Manila. Canete likewise denied that there are several warrants for his arrest.
"That is not true. I have been to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) eight times. If they have a warrant, then they should have arrested me," Canete said.
Justice Secretary Raul M. Gonzalez Sr. said it is possible that the warrant for a certain Roberto S. Canete may be referring to a different person with the same name.
At the time of the murder, Canete was a security guard of the Atlanta Center in Annapolis St. in Greenhills, San Juan. He was stationed at the parking lot where Blanca's car was parked.
Canete is no longer with the Northern Isabela Security Agency, the agency that provided the guards at the Atlanta Center at the time of Blanca's death. He is currently employed at RT2 Hardware in Luzon Avenue.
He was accompanied at the Department of Justice (DOJ) Wednesday by his fellow security guard Ricky T. Alvarez. Alvarez likewise denied ever going into hiding and said until the controversy erupted, he was stationed as a guard as he was still with the security agency.
"I'm just at home. I go to work everyday," Alvarez said when asked if he was hiding.
A third witness, Diolito E. Molines, declined to make a statement.
Eldorado Lim, owner of the security agency and husband of DOJ Prosecutor Zenaida Lim said Molines is now a tricycle driver and that he and Canete are no longer security guards because they failed to renew their licenses.
After meeting with the three witnesses and Harriet Demetriou, legal counsel of Kaye Torres, daughter of Blanca (Dorothy Jones in real life), Gonzalez revealed that he asked the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to submit the name of the guards who were on duty at the time of the murder.
"The mystery begins at 5:15 in the afternoon," Gonzalez said.
A guard of the MTRCB accompanied the veteran actress down to the 6th floor of the building at around 5:08 pm.
The guard did not see Blanca to her car. Canete, who was assigned to the parking lot, left his post and went to the lobby because of the rain. Gonzalez believed that someone should have seen Blanca.
"It is possible that Ms. Blanca was picked up by someone. She rode a different car," Gonzalez said. Gonzalez added it was possible that someone was waiting for Blanca in her car.
(November 4, 2004 issue)
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