Key witness in jueteng case killed (3:07 p.m.)

MANILA – The witness who implicated First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo in the jueteng payola scandal in 2005 and his two companions were ambushed by unidentified gunmen in Malate in Manila early Sunday, police said.

Senior Superintendent Raul Petrasanta, Pasay police chief, identified the victim as Wilfredo “Boy” Mayor, 54, a resident of BF Homes in Paranaque City; Rommel Mayor Paje and Allan Benedict Castro.

Wilfredo died at a hospital due to bullet wounds. Rommel sustained abrasion while Castro sustained gunshot injuries in the right abdomen and right thigh.

Petrasanta said Wilfredo and his two companions were on board a gray Volvo vehicle when they were fired upon by two motorcycle-riding suspects at 4 a.m. in front Park and Fly establishment along MIA Road.

Police said the suspects continued firing at the victim’s vehicle until it came to a halt at the corner of Chapel Road in front of the Our Lady of Airways Church.

In 2005, Wilfredo, a native of Bicol, testified before a Senate inquiry that Arroyo, his son, Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo and Bicol Representatives Krisel Lagman Luistro (First District), Carlos Imperial (Second District) and Joey Salceda (Third District) get a cut from proceeds of jueteng operations through their alleged bagmen.

Wilfredo admitted operating jueteng in Bicol, Pangasinan and Baguio City since 1995 but he stopped from 1998 to 2000 and resumed his operations between 2002 and 2003. He said he stopped operating jueteng in 2003 when he ran for barangay chairman.

He also revealed during the inquiry that the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Camp Crame gets P200,000 as payola every week from jueteng operations while the intelligence group of the PNP receives P120,000; the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) with P180,000, and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) with P148,000 per month.(AH/Sunnex)