Suspects in killing of Zamboanga del Norte judge indicted
The Department of Justice has approved the indictment of the principal suspect in the killing of Liloy, Zamboanga del Norte regional trial court Judge Reymar Lacaya last May.
The DoJ, through the Zamboanga del Norte Provincial Prosecutor’s Office, filed murder case against Juliver Cabating, a contractual court personnel, and two other persons last July 2 before the Liloy RTC.
Provincial Prosecutor Gabino Saavedra II approved the filing of the case in court after preliminary investigation showed probable cause in the murder charge filed by the judge’s widow, Violeta, through the National Bureau of Investigation.
In a three-page resolution, a copy of which furnished to the DOJ, Saavedra cited pieces of circumstantial evidence pointing to Cabating as perpetrator of Lacaya’s killing – including CCTV footages and testimonies of witnesses.
Cabating reportedly met with the two individuals tagged by authorities as gunmen – identified only as Jerry and Ramil – few hours before the incident.
The two suspects were seen on CCTV footages running away from the crime scene after the incident. They were also seen by witnesses carrying firearm.
“Truly, the pieces of evidence on hand have sufficiently established that the two respondents, known only by their respective aliases and identified by witnesses, are indeed the triggermen who ended the victim’s life on that fateful day of May 9, 2019,” read the resolution.
As for Cabating, the prosecutor’s office said he “interacted with his co-respondents immediately prior to the incident and even supplied them with lunch” and also seemed to have “provided them with the necessary information to facilitate the killing given the actuality that one of the gunmen even positioned himself in the abandoned room adjacent to the parking space where the killing occurred.”
“The same pieces of evidence have likewise shown that Juliver may have conspired with them in perpetrating the brutal slaying of the good judge,” it added.
Cabating did not appear in the PI hearing as he allegedly fled from the town days after the incident.
Lacaya, 62, was designated as acting judge of Liloy as his predecessor faced an audit by the Supreme Court.
The slain judge earlier cancelled a supposedly erroneous bail granted by his predecessor, Judge Oscar Tomarong, and ordered the re-arrest of several accused in drug cases after he discovered that Tomarong granted them bail without holding necessary hearings.
It was learned that Cabating, a job order personnel of the Department of Public Works and Highways detailed with the Liloy RTC, served as personal assistant of Tomarong.
The SC had already requested to the Philippine National Police to run after the suspects as early as last May.