A paramilitary man who could be a vital state witness in the Oct. 20 broad daylight slay of a businessman in Sibulan, Negros Oriental is now back to base, after investigating authorities could not find any legal basis to hold him.
Ramil Dong-coy, 29, single, and a member of the Special Civilian Armed Auxiliary Alpha Company of the 12th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, has returned to his unit, headed by Capt. Robert Salvador, at Camp Leon Kilat in Tanjay City.
Col. Francisco Patrimonio, commander of the Army’s 302nd Infantry Brigade and based at Camp Leon Kilat, confirmed that Dong-coy is now under their protective custody as he could be a “target” of certain groups or individuals who might want to eliminate him as he could turn state witness in the murder of businessman Demetrio Larena III.
Dong-coy, a resident of Barangay Malaunay in Valencia, Negros Oriental, had voluntarily turned himself in to authorities and sought the assistance of Special Investigator Jess Cañete of the Commission on Human Rights last Monday after learning that he was being implicated in the murder of Larena.
While Dong-coy was initially included in the murder charge along with four other respondents for alleged involvement in the killing of Larena, the Provincial Prosecutor handling the case has recommended that his name be dropped from the charge sheet and that he should be charged separately, said Atty. Dominador Cimafranca head of the local office of the National Bureau of Investigation here.
Authorities filed last Monday a murder charge against spouses Jerry and Espedita Enocerta, Jimmy Enocerta, a certain “Misael” and Dong-coy for allegedly conspiring in the plot to kill Larena.
But according to the NBI local chief, Prosecutor Maritess Macarubbo has recommended that separate cases be filed against the two still at-large suspected triggermen, Jimmy Enocerta and “Misael”, while another charge is filed against Dong-coy.
Dong-coy had revealed to authorities that he knew of the plan to take out Larena, and further claimed to have seen Espedita, Jimmy Enocerta and “Misael”, whom he said was also known by the name of Michael Garsula, at the elementary school in Campaclan, Sibulan, in the morning of Oct. 20 when the hit was carried out, according to NBI-Dumaguete chief Cimafranca.
Dong-coy has insisted that his only participation in the plot to kill Larena was to “secure” Espedita and take her back to the beachhouse owned by Larena in Cangmating, Sibulan, where the Enocerta couple had worked as caretaker and laundrywoman for the victim.
Cimafranca said Dong-coy has cooperated in the ongoing investigation on the Larena murder, and has provided essential information to authorities who are now tracking down the hit men, believed to be holed up in a safe house in Siaton, Negros Oriental.
Jerry Enocerta and his wife, Espedita, are now detained at the Negros Oriental Provincial Jail after they were arrested several hours later after Larena was gunned down in what many have now described as a “crime of passion”. (PNA/JFP)