THE wife of jailed murder suspect Ruel Velez yesterday appealed to the 19-year-old female bakery attendant to help in clearing the name of her husband from murder charge.
Susan Velez, in an interview with reporters, asked the woman to stand by her reported claim that Ruel was not the gunman in the murder of hotelier Manuel Ting last June 22 in Barangay Tisa, Cebu City.
Eve (real name of the woman is withheld for security) was earlier quoted as saying that Ruel was not the man she saw who shot and killed Ting in Barangay Tisa, Cebu City.
Eve, however, issued an affidavit to the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) denying the report and claimed she was misquoted.
Eve said she failed to see the face of the gunman.
Susan, however, believe Eve was just “forced” by the police to take back her earlier statement.
“Siguro mohangyo lang ko nimo nga sa imong kasingkasing barugan unta nimo kay inosente ni akong bana. Manghinaut lang ko nga mo-surface siya unya barugan niya ang iyang gibuhian nga estorya (I appeal to you and to your kind heart to stand by what you said because my husband is innocent),” she said.
Susan said her husband is a fall guy, and asked the police to find the real culprit.
Merits
CCPO Director Patrocinio Comendador Jr., in a separate interview, requested Susan not to sensationalize the issue.
“Let us allow the City Prosecutor to decide on the merits of the case and let us not try this case in a court of public opinion. Both the suspect and the victim deserve no less,” Comendador said.
Comendador said the Task Force Ting, in which the city police force is a member, is convinced that Velez is the gunman.
He said the investigation on the ambush slay of Ting that led to the identification of Velez “did not happen overnight.”
He said police work is more thorough and tenacious, as they have been trained for it.
“It was based on the affidavits of two eyewitnesses, who also stood by their claims, and a set of circumstantial evidence,” he said.
Comendador said there were other potential suspects in the course of the investigation, but they were not identified by the eyewitnesses. (JTG)