CEBU CITY, Philippines—Lawyer Tomas Enrile, the director of the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7), said they are willing to coordinate with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on the investigation of the ambush-slay of Clarin, Misamis Occidental Mayor David Navarro.
Navarro was shot dead by still unidentified men along M. Velez Street here last Friday, October 25, 2019.
Read: Clarin Mayor David Navarro shot dead in Cebu City
The CHR recently expressed hopes that the NBI-7 will be more accommodating than the police, since the police have been prohibited to share documents with the agency by President Rodrigo Duterte.
No such order has been given to the NBI.
Read: CHR-7 conducts own investigation on Clarin mayor Navarro’s ambush-slay
But Enrile said it might take time before they can share documents with the CHR since these documents will remain confidential as investigations continue.
Enrile said it may still be premature to share documents with CHR, but he assured they are willing to coordinate with the human rights agency after their own investigation.
At present, the NBI-7 is focused on finding the suspects of the killing of the mayor. It is coordinating with the NBI in Misamis Occidental, where the family of the mayor is.
Read: NBI-7 to begin probe on Navarro’s death
He is grateful for the pronouncement of trust by Navarro’s family to the NBI, and he promised they will give their maximum efforts to solve the case.
Enrile also mulls tapping the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) to help solve the case because of the many allegations faced by Navarro in his life, including being a leader of a robbery gang and connections to illegal drugs.
Read: Arrested mayor of Clarin, Misamis Occidental in Duterte’s narco list
He said they will exhaust all efforts to find the mastermind and the perpetrators of the killings, but they will not be pressured by any deadline.
“I don’t want deadlines. We only have a few personnel and I don’t want them pressured to solve the case immediately,” said Enrile.
He said they will take their time to ensure accuracy in solving the case. /bmjo