By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Anti-crime and anti-corruption watchdog group Task Force Kasanag (TFK) questioned the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) regional office over their handling of the investigation into the ambush on Atty. Erfe del Castillo.

TFK national commander John Chiong said he believes the investigation has not gone through proper procedure.

He explained, NBI typically issues a subpoena to those involved in the case and requests a response to allegations; it is then based on gathered evidence as to whether the case goes before prosecutors.

In addition, Chiong said the NBI is supposed to conduct press conferences with regard to presenting the basis behind filing the case, along with presenting evidence and witnesses.

A press conference was held earlier this week, where del Castillo identified the suspects in the ambush case as businesswoman Catherine Berioso-Cabuga, also known as ‘Kate Brios;’ various member of the suspect’s family; and their legal counsel, Atty. Jose Max Ortiz.

She also named five police officers and another suspect, whose name is being withheld by Watchmen Daily Journal.

The TFK official also questioned why del Castillo sought the assistance of the NBI regional office, which is located in Iloilo, and not the office in Bacolod City.

“Do they not trust the NBI-Bacolod?” he asked. “Public office is public trust, if they do not trust the NBI-Bacolod then they should remove them.”

Last Monday, del Castillo filed murder charges against several suspects over an ambush which resulted in the death of former police officer Efren Palmares, Del Castillo’s fiancé.

Del Castillo claimed the suspects conspired to kill her, naming Berios-Cabuga as the “mastermind.”

“I am a thorn on her neck,” she said, adding, the ambush stemmed from a dispute between Berioso-Cabuga and her husband, particularly over the Metro Inn Hotel in Bacolod City./DGB, WDJ