The commander of the Special Investigation Task Group that had been created to look into the killing of Clarin, Misamis Occidental Mayor David Navarro welcomed President Duterte’s decision to let the National Bureau of Investigation-Central Visayas handle the investigation.
Police Col. Gemma Vinluan, chief of the Cebu City Police Office, even thanked the President for relieving them of the duties to investigate the case.
“We are not demoralized. In fact, it seems like we were able heave a huge sigh of relief. We have so many things to do and we even have accomplishments that had been sidelined because of this issue,” said Vinluan.
Vinluan is also open to have the policemen who escorted the mayor during the attack be investigated.
Navarro was aboard a police vehicle together with five policemen and her two sisters when he was gunned down last Oct. 25.
The attack happened while the mayor was being transported to the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office for his inquest proceedings on charges of usurpation of authority, slight physical injury, and acts of lasciviousness.
The charges stemmed from the mayor’s demeanor inside a massage parlor in uptown hotel in Cebu City last Oct. 23.
“It is just right to let the NBI handle the investigation. That is a very wise wisdom so that all these speculations that may taint the credibility of the Cebu City police will be erased. We are open to be investigated. It is favorable to us,” said Vinluan.
The CCPO chief added that allowing the NBI Region 7 to handle the investigate will also clear some insinuations that the attack was a handiwork of the police.
“Anyone can be a suspect. But that doesn’t mean we are guilty just because we are being investigated,” Vinluan added. (Calvin Cordova)
