Forensics from the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) cordon the area in Barangay Banilad, Cebu City where a lawyer was ambushed on Monday afternoon, November 23. | Text and photo by Paul Lauro
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) said it is gaining ground in its investigation into the ambush killing of high profile Lawyer Joey Louis Wee, who was shot dead in broad daylight outside his office on November 23, 2020.
The CCPO revealed that they may already have persons of interest who may be behind the killing of the lawyer. Police said the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footages helped narrow down the suspects to four to five people.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla, the deputy director for operations of the CCPO and the commander of the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) for Wee’s death, said that they have found good leads that could potentially lead to the filing of charges against the suspects.
The SITG however, refused to divulge details about the suspects and persons of interest, so as not to preempt their leads.
The SITG came up with leads despite the lack of cooperation from Wee’s family in the investigation. Parilla said the wife has not answered their questions.
“We also respect them if they can’t cooperate yet. We understand they are still in shock,” said Parilla.
Still, the police are hoping that the family will eventually cooperate so that the investigation will move faster, as the family may have clues on the reason for the killing.
The SITG will continue to work on their leads, Parilla said and that they are also willing to share notes with the National Bureau of Investigation, which is currently conducting a parallel investigation, should they ask for it.
“The directive to us is to finish this case. When we say we finish the case, we are able to file the charges against the suspects,” said the SITG commander.
Parilla assured the family that the SITG is on top of the investigation with or without their cooperation. /rcg