ILOILO – Three months later, how’s the grisly murder of businesswoman Claire Diergos of Pavia, Iloilo doing?
At the moment, the Iloilo Police Provincial Office’s (IPPO) special investigation taskforce (SIT) murder complaint is with the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office which is determining if there is probable cause to bring the case to court.
It was on Jan. 5 when the SIT filed the complaint against 10 suspects, including familiar political names.
Six of the eight identified suspects have received their subpoenas: Peter Paul Lopez, Saliha “Sally” Lopez, Carlos Paul Lopez, Felix Paul Lopez, Christian Paul Lopez, and Raffy Sorioso, confirmed Atty. Dwight Trasadas, their legal counsel.
Peter Paul Lopez is a former mayor of San Dionisio, Iloilo. Sally is his wife who is running for vice mayor in San Dionisio, and Carlos, Felix and Christian are his sons.
In an interview over DYOK Aksyon Radyo Iloilo on Jan. 26, Trasadas said his camp would not call for an extension on the submission of the counter affidavit.
“Based on my assessment of the case, I think until February 10 and 11 [with some respondents]. This is enough time for us to be able to submit our counter-affidavit and the needed supporting documents,” said Trasadas.
He did not divulge how they were assessing the case but said they were “trained to finish the things that we needed to do during a particular time that we needed to do and finish it.”
Trasadas earlier said his clients “have no motive whatsoever to commit the alleged crime.”
He stressed: “Wala gid sang rason nga ipapatay sang kliyente ko ang ginatumod ninyo nga biktima.”
Meanwhile, Trasadas said his clients had no idea on the whereabouts of another respondent in the case, Gardo Ibrahim, a former aide of the Lopezes.
It was also unclear, as of this writing, if Ibrahim and another respondent, Rudelyn Sumbong, have received their subpoenas.
The IPPO declined to make available copies of the complaints.
WITNESSES ‘SAFE’
The 10 persons who executed affidavits supporting the murder complaint are all safe, according to Police Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Pinuela, SIT spokesperson.
They may apply for inclusion to the Department of Justice’s Witness Protection Program but only after the IPPO’s complaint would have been elevated to the court for trial, said Pinuela.
“Ara lang sila nagahulat nga ma-resolve ang case sa fiscal. Ang Department of Justice na iya ang ma-determine if they qualify to be included in the Witness Protection Program,” he added.
OCTOBER MURDER
Diergos was found dead inside her sports utility vehicle on Oct. 26, 2021 in Barangay Inangayan, Santa Barbara, Iloilo. The SIT, however, determined that Diergos was actually killed in her house at Deca Homes subdivision in adjacent Pavia town.
It took the SIT more than two months to file the complaint, citing the lack of credible witnesses.
Autopsy showed Diergos had multiple stab wounds: two on the neck, five on the left hand and two on the right hand. Her neck was slashed.
On Oct. 29, 2021 Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) conducted a luminol acid test in Diergo’s house at Deca Homes Subdivision, Barangay Balabag, Pavia, Iloilo.
Blood traces were spotted on the floor, wall, bed, blanket of Diergo’s three-year-old daughter, table, wall of the comfort room, Diergos’ dressing room, and the cover of the washing machine.
A closed-circuit television footage showed Diergos’ Montero Sport leaving Deca Homes at 4:20 a.m. on Oct. 25.
One of the first persons the police invited for questioning was Diergos’ newly-hired house help Sumbong of New Lucena, Iloilo.
She last saw Diergos alive late night of Oct. 24 (a Sunday), she told the police, and hadn’t seen her since waking up Monday morning after.
Sumbong was hired just that Sunday afternoon. She said Diergos, who had a three-year-old daughter, fetched her at the transport terminal in Barangay Tagbak, Jaro, Iloilo City and they had dinner in Oton town before going home to Deca Homes around 8 p.m.
If Sumbong were to be believed, she went to sleep soundly that Sunday night after Diergos told her to just leave the gate unlocked.
She denied having anything to do with the killing.
The police believed Diergos knew her killers, and they were “no ordinary people.”
A P500,000 bounty is being offered to credible witnesses – P300,000 from Diergos’ friends and business partners and P100,000 each from the municipal government of Pavia and the provincial government of Guimaras./PN
