By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Police are considering illegal drugs as the possible motive behind last Sunday’s murder of a woman outside the Metro Bacolod District Jail (MBDJ).
Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) spokesperson, Police Lt. Colonel Ariel Pico, said the victim has been formally identified as Crystal Faith Hastiva, a resident of Bago City. Immediately following the incident, she was earlier identified as Ashly Kate Gonzaga based on an MBDJ visitor’s pass and tax identification number card recovered from the victim’s possession.
While police are still investigating the use of an alias, an initial interview with the victim’s grandmother revealed she had been using a different name since leaving her Bago City home.
The BCPO official said, prior to the shooting, Hastiva had just completed a visit to an MBDJ inmate identified as Kirby Andrade, who is presently detained on drug-related charges.
Interviews conducted with witnesses, which were later confirmed by nearby closed-circuit television camera footage, showed Hastiva exited the MBDJ gate and stood a few meters away to wait for a public utility vehicle. While waiting, she was approached by a gunman who immediately shot her in the head with a .45 caliber pistol.
The gunman then boarded a waiting motorcycle and fled west towards the corner of Magsaysay-Araneta Streets.
Police continue to investigate the identity of the suspects./DGB, WDJ