By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

More than a year after the murder of Negros Occidental provincial consultant Mariano Antonio Cui, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Bacolod City is concerned that his murder may become a “cold case” if they do not get any new leads.

NBI-Bacolod Chief, Atty. Renoir Baldovino said yesterday that the courts in Bacolod and in the province’s San Carlos City have not granted their petition for a cyber warrant, pointing out that it could have allowed them to get new leads to the case.

The cyber warrant could have allowed NBI-Bacolod to open the gadgets which would have been examined by technical experts in Manila.

He said there was a series of calls at the time when the involved were still planning the murder.

Cui’s murder was “well-planned and well-funded,” Baldovino said, but he refused to divulge any other information about the case.

“Unfortunately, our investigation stopped despite receiving much information that is mostly unverified and dubious,” he said.

Earlier, the provincial government raised the reward money to P2 million for the arrest of the perpetrators.

In a notice issued by the provincial government, any information that would lead to the capture of the person or individuals behind Cui’s death may be relayed to the NBI-Bacolod field office.

Cui was shot dead by unidentified assailants as he was leaving his office in San Carlos City’s Barangay Palampas on April 12, 2021./DGB, WDJ