The Department of Justice has designated prosecutors to a preliminary investigation into the murder case filed by the National Bureau of Investigation in connection with the killing of retired Court of Appeals Associate Justice Normandie Pizarro.
Prosecutor-General Bendicto Malcontento, head of the DOJ’s National Prosecution Service, said he has assigned Assistant State Prosecutor Mike Humarang and Assistant Prosecution Attorney Grace Arboladura to conduct the preliminary investigation to determine whether there is probable cause to indict suspect Ramon Pangan for murder.
On March 23, the NBI filed a murder case before the DOJ five months after it conducted a parallel investigation into Pizarro’s disappearance last year.
Pizarro’s car was found abandoned on October 23, 2020 by residents of Manabak Road in San Simon, Pampanga.
Blood stains and other items were found inside the vehicle but Pizarro could not be located.
On October 30, police officers from the Capas Police Station in Tarlac received a report from barangay officials about their discovery of a decomposing cadaver.
Following forensic examination of the body by the NBI, it was established that the victim died from a gunshot wound to the head.
A DNA analysis report released on December 21, 2020 disclosed that the body was that of Pizarro.
According to Malcontento, the preliminary investigation on Pizarro’s murder case would start once the enhanced community quarantine is lifted in the National Capital Region.
The NBI filed the case against Pangan based on the sworn affidavit of witness Raul Concepcion that prior to his death, Pizarro confided to him through a text message about Pangan’s unpaid cash loans amounting to P90,000.
In another text message, Concepcion said Pizarro informed him that he was working on a big case for the Pangans.
On November 18, 2020, Pangan along with his lawyer Shelamarie Beltran went to the NBI to shed light on the case.
Pangan initially denied having knowledge about Pizarro’s murder but the NBI noted several inconsistencies in his statement, prompting the agency to consider him as the primary suspect in Pizarro’s killing.