Doria welcomes parallel probe on call center agent’s killing

THE chief of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) saw no problem with the arrest of another suspect in the killing of a call center agent by the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7).

“It just shows that law enforcement agencies are working to solve the crime,” said Supt. Joel Doria.

Last Monday, the NBI-7 arrested 47-year-old habal-habal driver Francisco Capalaran, who was allegedly pointed to by a witness as the one who drove the motorcycle that ferried Adolfo from Barangay Pit-os to Barangay Pulangbato around 8 p.m. on July 9.

Before Capalaran’s arrest, the CCPO arrested Sherwin Velasquez and considered him as the prime suspect in the killing.

Adolfo was found dead in a grassy area inside a subdivision in Barangay Pulangbato last July 10. A complaint for robbery with homicide has been filed before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office against Capalaran.

Despite the development in the parallel investigation conducted by NBI-7, Doria said the police will continue to investigate to determine Velasquez’s possible involvement in the crime.

Though his participation in the killing has not been established yet, Velasquez remains in detention after a pack of suspected shabu was recovered in his possession when police picked him up for questioning.

Doria clarified that the two law enforcement agencies are not competing against each other in solving the crime.

“There’s no competition, but what we have is sharing of information. We exchange information as a protocol in conducting parallel investigations,” said Doria.

Doria explained that although the police have yet to file charges against anyone in relation to the crime, it doesn’t mean that investigators are being inefficient.

“We had circumstantial evidence, we have witnesses, but they were unwilling to execute an affidavit so our hands are tied,” said Doria.