BY RHENJIE MARIE CALANTAS
ILOILO – Another angle has surfaced in the killing of 31-year-old restobar waiter Alejandro “Niño” Panes Jr. on July 11.
Drug suspect Daisy “Kate” Nacita, who was nabbed during a buy-bust operation in Oton town on July 6, admitted that Panes and a certain “Reneboy” were pursuing her romantically.
“Nagapangaluyag ni siya sa akon. Wala nangin kami kay may asawa man siya kag kabataan tapos may bata man ko. Ga-chat kami, video call kag ga-update kung diin siya pero wala naging kami, close man kami nga barkada lang bala mag-shot tapos mga holding hands eh,” said Nacita in an interview with Radyo Bandera Iloilo.
Panes, a resident of Zone III, Barangay Dulonan, Arevalo, Iloilo City and a waiter at MO2 Restobar, was shot in front of the R.S. Layson compound in Barangay North Fundidor, Molo.
“Reneboy” was mentioned several times by alleged gunman Ricardo “Rex” Amoroso as the mastermind of Panes’ death.
The 53-year-old Amoroso was an ex-convict and a resident of Barangay Zamorra-Melliza, City Proper. He was among the eight suspects arrested in a police hot pursuit operation.
Nacita, who also worked at the same bar as Panes, said she became acquainted with the victim in April. They later had “mutual understanding” but were not in a relationship because she knew Panes has a family and she is a single mother.
“Ginadul-ong-sugat niya ako sa bar. Ginadul-ong ya ko mga 8 sa gabi kag 2 a.m. niya na ko nasugat,” said Nacita. “Barkada ko gid na siya, lain man buot ko nga nadula siya. Nakabakal pa ni siya sa akon (drugs) mga P3,000 kag gakwa ko sa miga ko.”
Meanwhile, “Reneboy,” the alleged mastermind Nacita met through a friend on June 24, has been sending financial support to her and her child.
Nacita said they, too, often exchange messages via chat.
“Nag-chat ni siya sa akon nga ginpakilala siya sang miga ko tapos nag-offer siya masuporta sa bata ko, gapadala na siya mga P5,000. Wala man ko gapangayo, gapadala lang siya, mga kaduwa na siya magpadala,” she said.
Reneboy is believed to be over 50 years old and a prisoner at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
“May edad naman ni siya, mga daw 50 plus, pero gwapo si Niño [Panes] ya eh,” Nacita added.
When “Reneboy” found out about Nacita and Panes, he told her to unfriend the victim on social media, added Nacita.
On Wednesday, June 12, around 5 p.m., alleged gunman Amoroso surrendered to the police.
Earlier on the same day, seven other suspects were caught in two separate operations:
* John Mendez, 42, of Barangay Monica-Blumentritt, City Proper
* Jesus Gecaraya, 24, shoemaker from Bangga Inday, Zone 5, Barangay Calumpang, Molo
* Johnley Cadiz, 30, construction worker from Bangga Inday, Zone 5
* Julius Inesoria, 58, e-bike driver from Barangay Zamora-Melliza
* Jurex Amoroso, 32, tricycle driver from Barangay Zamora-Melliza
* Rene John Inesoria, 20, tricycle driver from Barangay Zamora-Melliza
* Maila Inesoria, 52, unemployed, from Barangay Zamora-Melliza
They yielded guns, grenades and suspected shabu.
Police investigation showed that R.J. Inesoria allegedly drove a motorcycle with R. Amoroso while Gecaraya and J. Amoroso served as lookouts. J. Inesoria, Cadiz and M. Inesoria (the live-in partner of R. Amoroso) helped the others escape by blocking the police.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Benitez Jr., head of the City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU) and City Intelligence (CIU) of the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO), said Amoroso was subjected to a paraffin test.
According to Benitez, a jacket was also recovered from the crime scene, and one of the suspects claimed the weapon was given to him to confuse the police in their investigation.
The motorcycle and firearms believed to be used by the suspects were also taken from Amoroso’s house./PN
