Former Biliran Rep. Glenn Chong, a staunch critic of the electronic voting company Smartmatic of Venezuela, called on Congress Friday to conduct a parallel investigation into the killing of his close-in security aide allegedly by scalawag policemen in Cainta, Rizal last Monday.
Chong said he and the family of victim Richard Santillan have decided to have his body re-autopsied as tell-tale signs in the body indicated torture.
During a news forum in Quezon City, Chong aired suspicions that he was the real target of Santillan’s assailants, adding that known enemies could be behind the killing.
He said witnesses who were with Santillan in a “despedida” (farewell) party near the scene of the shooting incident disclosed that the security aide left at 10 p.m. They heard gunshots a few minutes after the alleged victim left in Chong’s Toyota Fortuner Sports Utility Vehicle.
A police report showed that Santillan allegedly shot it out with a group of policemen manning a checkpoint on Eastbank Road, Cambridge Village past 1 a.m. Tuesday.
“If Richard left the party at 10 p.m., this means he went missing for three hours,” insisted Chong, who is running for senator next year.
Santillan was driving Chong’s car with license plates NOF-845 when he was stopped in the checkpoint. Instead of heeding the order to stop, Santillan sped away, resulting in a car chase that ended in a shootout.
With the victim was an unidentified woman, who was likewise killed.
Police accused Santillan of being a member of a drug syndicate and has been under their surveillance for months.
Chong slammed this claim, saying that in his over eight years of serving him, Santillan was a constant companion, accompanying him even when he meets clients for his legal profession.
Chong is convinced that the killing has something to do with his expose of massive election irregularities in the use of Smartmatic’s Precinct Count Optical Scan machines. (Ben R. Rosario)