Getafe police to lawyer, who survived ambush: Help us in investigation

The Getafe police are appealing to Lawyer Rico Cabarrubias to give them his statement about last Monday’s ambush in the town. CDN Digital file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police are calling on the lawyer, who survived an ambush in Getafe town in Bohol province last Monday, January 14, to visit them and give them his testimony on the attack against him.

Senior Insp. Narciso Laroga, Getafe Police Station chief, told Cebu Daily News Digital in a phone interview on January 15, Tuesday, that they would need Lawyer Rico Cabarubbias’ side of the ambush, which cost the life of his driver, Conrado Añasco.

Laroga made the call to Cabarrubias, since he had went into hiding after the attack and had not spoken to the authorities.

He said that the family of the lawyer assured that Cabarrubias was in a safe place and that they could not divulge where he was staying.

Laroga said they would need the lawyer’s side of the ambush so that they could move the investigation forward.

He said that without the lawyer’s testimony they could only do their best to gather information on why the lawyer was attacked.

He said there would be a chance that Cabarrubias could provide a clue to investigators on who could have possibly ordered the ambush and why he was attacked, 

While waiting for Cabarrubias to visit them and give them his version of the attack, Laroga said that they would continue to gather information that could give them a clearer picture of the ambush and, perhaps, bring them nearer to the identity of the attackers and their mastermind.

He said for now, they were coordinating with their counterpart in Buenavista town, the hometown of the lawyer, to gather information that might help them in the investigation.

Last Monday afternoon, two armed men strafed Cabarrubias’ car as the lawyer and his driver were cruising along Barangay Tulang, Getafe town about 20 kilometers from the lawyer’s hometown of Buenavista.

Laroga said that the lawyer had just come from a hearing of a client in Talibon, Bohol, and was heading home on the car driven by Añasco.

Añasco died in the attack, while Cabarrubias, who was sitting at the passenger’s front seat survived.

Laroga also said that they were also investigating if the attack was politically-motivated since Cabarrubias would be running for mayor of the Buenavista town in the midterm election.

But Laroga said so far in their investigation, they could not see any link on politics to Cabarrubias ambush./dbs