2nd spotter in Ungab slay captured in wife's video
WAS there a second spotter present inside the courtroom with Atty. Jonnah John Ungab and his client Kerwin Espinosa, in the midst of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents?
Senior Insp. Jonathan Taneo, spokesperson of the Task Force Ungab, said that they have obtained a cellphone video from Pearl Ungab, Jonnah’s wife, taken reportedly during the promulgation of two of Espinosa’s cases in Branch 23.
“It’s a possibility because we are taking in consideration that there was more than one spotter. However, we are still verifying that information and we are also reviewing the footage we have gathered so far,” Taneo said.
NBI 7 Director Patricio Bernales Jr. said that the agency is also checking on the information regarding a possible second spotter.
8 days later
After his courtroom duties last Feb. 19, Ungab was driving out of the Qimonda compound where the courts are based and heading south when a masked man shot him in the head. Ungab’s car hit a taxi before stopping across the road. He was buried last Sunday in Ronda, where he had served as vice mayor.
Taneo, also chief of the Homicide Section, said that the task force has deployed personnel to verify information texted to their hotline number.
“Most of the reports on the personalities the texters were feeding us came from Cebu City. But we are still checking which of them are true,” Taneo said.
Investigators have gathered 10 sets of footage from closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the Qimonda building, Cebu Ports Authority (CPA), and from Mandaue City’s roads.
As for the witness, Taneo said that they have yet to secure an affidavit from him.
Supt. Ryan Devaras, chief of the Intelligence and Detection Management Branch (IDMB), said that the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) strengthened their beat patrol in the vicinity of the Hall of Justice, following the ambush.
More inside
“There are already police officers assigned inside the building,” Devaras said.
Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak visited Taneo in the Homicide Office to get an update from the police. Tumulak noted that security in Qimonda should’ve been stricter, especially for persons about to enter the building.
“If a person wants to go inside, he’ll just give an identification card to the guard who will in turn provide him with a number. When he goes out, the number will be collected, for the ID to be returned. There was no proper recording,” said Tumulak.
However, as deputy mayor for police matters, he assured that Cebu City remains safe. “The Cebu City Government assures the people that they have nothing to worry about. Our policemen and barangay tanods are always alert to secure everyone,” Tumulak said.