|
Monday, September 10, 2007
Graft investigator shot dead
MANILA (Updated 2:13 p.m.) -- Motorcycle-riding gunmen on Monday shot dead a lawyer who investigated government graft cases, prompting government officials to order a swift probe.
Graft investigator and prosecutor Alejo Dojillo, 43, was killed in his northern hometown of San Fabian while on his way to catch a bus to the Office of the Ombudsman in Manila where he worked, police said.
Online memorial for Cebu's Nenita "Inday Nita" Daluz. Post testimonials here.
Dojillo’s death came a day after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the creation of a “culture of good procurement” to fight graft and corruption in government.
Arroyo, in issuing Administrative Order (AO) 193, said the potentials of the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) should be maximized to raise the “procurement quotient” of government officials and deter the wastage of public funds.
Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, the head anti-graft investigator, ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct a thorough hunt for the killers, vowing to "exert all efforts to bring justice to attorney Dojillo's death."
Gutierrez directed NBI Director Nestor Mantaring to immediately conduct an investigation into the incident in coordination with OMB-Luzon investigators.
Initial reports say Dojillo was on his way to the OMB office in Quezon City from his home province in San Fabian town in Pangasinan when he was gunned down by unidentified motorcycle-riding gunmen early Monday morning.
He was aboard a motorcycle on his way to the bus terminal when he was shot by yet unidentified gunmen, the report said.
The victim sustained five bullet wounds in the different parts of his body, the report added.
Chief Inspector Chito Sancho Esmenda, the police chief of San Fabian, 180 kilometers (110 miles) north of Manila, said investigators were studying the possibility that Dojillo's killing was linked to graft cases he had investigated or to his family's involvement in politics.
Dojillo has been with the Office of the Ombudsman- Central Office since Oct. 30, 1990 occupying the post of Budget Officer II.
He transferred to the Economic and Intelligence Bureau on February 18, 1997 but was reemployed to the Office of the Ombudsman on August 15, 2000 as Graft Investigator Officer I (GIO I) at the OMB-Luzon.
The victim passed the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Board Exams in 1986 and the Bar exams in 1993.
He is survived by his three children, Ailce,20; Jaela,19; and Lex,16; and his wife, Maricar.
A senior World Bank official earlier this month urged the Philippines to strengthen its fight against corruption, which remains a major hindrance to foreign investment. A recent World Bank report ranked the Philippines 126th out of 175 countries in terms of investor friendliness. (Sunnex/AP)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pampanga. (September 10, 2007 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
|
|
|
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
