ILOILO City – A former director of the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) was tagged as the mastermind in two murder cases here in January last year.
Police Colonel Martin Defensor, now the chief directorial staff of the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6), was linked to the crimes by dismissed police corporal Joseph Andrew Joven, one of the four suspects charged in the death of businessman Delfin Britanico and call center agent Allain Muller on Jan. 19, 2020.
According to Britanico’s father, former Iloilo assemblyman and Banat party-list representative Salvador Britanico, Joven claimed Defensor offered him between P5,000 to P50,000 to stay silent on the police official’s supposed involvement in the two cases.
Joven further claimed that when he was in hiding, Defensor supported his family financially, according to Britanico.
Following these allegations, a murder case was filed against Defensor on July 8, 2021 in relation to the death of Muller.
On Aug. 18, 2021, another complaint, this time for “principal by inducement” as accessory to the killing of Delfin Britanico, was filed against the former ICPO director.
Four police officers were initially tagged by Joven in the two cases. They were Police Staff Sergeant Ricardo Morante, Police Master Sergeant Vernie Lui Escorial, Police Staff Sergeant Michael de Felipe of the La Paz police station, and Police Staff Sergeant Freddie Libo-on of the Dumangas (Iloilo) police station.
Before Joven turned into a state witness, he was one of the initial two policemen that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) charged with murder in theft.
In a sworn statement attached to his application to be a state witness filed with the Office of the Prosecutor General in the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Ermita, Manila on Dec. 15, 2020, Joven tagged the four policemen as his companions inside the Mitsubishi Adventure used as getaway vehicle.
He also tagged Escorial and Morante as the triggermen while the other two policemen as lookouts.
De Felipe denied the charge and tagged Joven as a drug addict and liar.
“Butigon gid na sia. Koging ‘na sia (He’s a liar and a drug addict),” de Felipe said.
Muller was shot to death outside of his house in Barangay Cuartero, Jaro district. Minutes after, a motorcycle-riding Britanico was shot to death outside River Boulevard Subdivision in Barangay Nabitasan, La Paz district.
‘NO TRUTH’
Defensor denied Joven’s accusation.
“I will always stay in the side of the truth,” said Defensor in a text message. “There is no truth sa mga accusations.”
“Unfortunately we could not comment further on cases involving PNP (Philippine National Police) na naka-file na sa court,” said Defensor.
Defensor was the ICPO director when the murders happened.
The PRO-6 also declined to comment.
“We could not give more statements on this because the case is already in the court. But Sir Defensor is ready to face it,” said Police Lieutenant Colonel Joem Malong, PRO-6 spokesperson.
Malong confirmed that no administrative case has been filed against the four policemen and Defensor.
The two murder cases are being handled by the NBI./PN
