of the Philippines the criminal justice system is - Article 2

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VICTIM: Paquito H. Diaz
INCIDENT: Killing
ALLEGED PERPETRATORS:
Two unidentified gunmen
DATE: 6 July 2006
AHRC UA-254-2006
PHOTO: PCPR
Paquito Diaz: A “well-planned” killing
At 6:30pm on 6 July 2006, Paquito “Pax” Diaz (42), a former
radio broadcaster, was talking to relatives on the sidewalk of
Esperas Avenue, Barangay 54, Tacloban City, Leyte, near his
house—while waiting for old classmates, to attend a high school
reunion—when shot dead by a gunman on a motorbike.
Margarita Pelingon, the aunt of his wife, and her son Ariel
witnessed the attack. According to them the gunmen were riding
an XRM model motorcycle, which slowed down as they approached
Diaz. One of the men pulled a .45-calibre pistol and shot Diaz at
close range. The pistol was equipped with a silencer. Diaz was
hit in his left cheek below his eye. He was hit again as he fell to
the ground. Before the shooting the gunmen had travelled along
Esperas Avenue several times, and had hidden behind a bush
about nine metres away.
After the shooting, bystanders and neighbours tried to block
the way of the gunmen, but they were threatened that they would
be shot if they did not move out of the way. Diaz’s nephews,
Antonio Pelingon and Leandro Pacheco immediately took him to
the nearby Bethany Hospital by a tricycle. However, the attending
physicians declared Diaz dead on arrival. According to the
physicians, a bullet that pierced through his heart caused his
death. Dr. Angel Cordero of the PNP Crime Laboratory conducted
an autopsy.
Diaz had reportedly been receiving threats on his mobile phone,
according to Jun Estoya, anchorperson of a local AM radio station.
Superintendent Anacleto Limbo, chief of police of Tacloban
City, said initial police investigations had revealed that the attack
on Diaz was “well-planned”; however, no substantial progress is
known to have been made into the crime.
In an interview, Lulu Palencia, regional chairperson of the
Citizens Anti-Crime Assistance Group, revealed that a suspect
named Ronald Real was detained in Pastrana, Leyte at around
7pm on July 6. Real is a Private First Class reportedly attached
to the 34th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army in San Jorge,
Western Samar. He was arrested at a police checkpoint by Senior
Superintendent Sabanal, head of the Pastrana Police Station.
Pfc. Real denied any involvement in Diaz’s killing. Lulu
Palencia said that it had yet to be investigated whether Pfc. Real
was involved in the killing. At the time of his arrest, he was
riding a motorcycle without a license plate number.
According to the January 2007 report by the presidentiallyappointed
Melo Commission (page 48):
Absolutely no progress has been reported [into the case]. No witness
could even give a description of the perpetrators to provide sufficient
basis for a cartographic sketch because the driver of the motorcycle was
wearing a helmet while the gunman had a ball cap on which partly
covered his face.
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article 2 • February 2007 Vol. 6, No. 1