Sun.Star
Sunday, July 09, 2006
[glow=blue,2,300]House inquiry witness killed
By Carmel P. Geverola & Mia E. Abellana Of Sun.Star Cebu
A former employee who testified against two Cebuano businessmen in a congressional inquiry on illegal drugs in 2001 was shot dead last night in Labangon, Cebu City.
Ananias Dy, 50, was on his way home to Nivel Hills, Cebu City, when attacked at 7:40 p.m. Dy had just stopped his motorcycle for a red light at Salvador and Katipunan Sts. when two men on a motorcycle stopped beside him.
The passenger then pulled out a gun and shot Dy.
Dy managed to get off his motorcycle and run about seven to eight meters. But the gunman chased him and shot him again.
SPO1 Desiderio Mendaros of the Cebu City Homicide Section said Dy’s body bore several gunshot wounds.
Witnesses, quoted by team leader Chris Bautista of the Labangon barangay tanods, said they heard at least five gunshots.
A stray bullet hit a 12-year-old girl near her left knee.
Mendaros said Edjean Gabutin of Sitio Lutaw-lutaw in Labangon was sitting by the roadside with her grandmother, selling eggs.
She saw the shooting. Later, she felt pain in her leg and thought a stone had hit her.
Gabutin was taken to the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) by her grandmother.
Some bystanders also helped put Dy in a taxi. Gerald Echavez, a concerned citizen, accompanied Dy to CCMC, where the latter was declared dead on arrival.
The gunman and his companion were seen heading toward Salvador St., while some witnesses said the men were going to Katipunan.
Some witnesses also had conflicting accounts on whether the culprits were wearing helmets or masks. Some said their faces were uncovered.
They also could not give a clear description of the two men’s clothes or appearance.
Raymond Chan, a nephew of Dy, told the responding homicide team that his uncle just came from his (Dy’s) mother’s house in Doña Esperanza Village in Tisa.
Five empty shells, one slug—possibly from a .45 caliber—were found at the crime scene.
“I am shocked to learn about that (killing). I almost saw the killing. I passed the street on my way to Tisa 15 minutes after it happened. Traffic was heavy. I thought it was another vigilante attack. It was only later that I learned it was Dy,” Rep. Antonio Cuenco told Sun.Star Cebu last night when sought for comment.
Cuenco (Cebu City, south) was chairman of the House committee on dangerous drugs when Dy and his co-worker, Bernard Liu, testified against businessman-brothers Peter and Wellington Lim in October 2001.
Dy and Liu had linked the brothers to the illegal drugs trade, a charge the brothers both denied.
“This matter should be investigated. I condemn this killing. He was a witness. I am not saying that the shooting is linked to that, but it is one of the angles the police should look into,” Cuenco said.
The last time the congressman talked to Dy, who had said he was Peter’s bodyguard, was about a year ago.
“He talked to me about Bernard’s illegal drug trafficking case but he did not mention that he was in danger,” Cuenco said.
Dy also did not ask for police protection, he added.(CPG/MEA)