Senate public order panel lifts contempt order vs cop linked to assassination attempt ​

 
The Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs has lifted the contempt order against a police officer who was linked to an assassination attempt in Dumaguete City. 
 
It was Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada who made a motion to lift the contempt order against PS/Sgt Noel Alabata at the continuation of the panel’s probe into the spate of political killings in Negros Oriental.
 
Alabata was tagged as the gunman during a shooting incident in Dumaguete City in 2021 involving businessmen Jason Ong and Sandy Tinguha.
 
The Senate panel, headed by Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, has been investigating the political killings and attacks in the province, including that of Gov. Roel Degamo.
 
With no objection from other members of the panel, dela Rosa approved Estrada’s motion. 
 
It was Estrada who moved to cite Alabata in contempt after he refused to answer questions regarding his supposed involvement in the attack. 
 
It can be recalled that Alabata evaded senators’ queries when asked who posted his P120,000 bail and why he used aliases “Mr. X” and “Alfonso Tan.”
 
In their previous testimony, both Ong and Tinguha said Alabata shot them  while they were manning their small restaurant in Dumaguete City. The cop ended up being shot and beaten by the restaurant’s staff following a scuffle. 
 
In his testimony, Alabata denied shooting a gun and claimed that the scar near his nect was from a knife and not a gunshot. But the surgeon who treated his wound and was present at the Senate hearing, positively identified Alabata.
 
It was also then discovered that Alabata used “Mr. X” as a pseudonym and not his real name as shown in the medical records. But the police officer claimed he could not remember the incident and was unconscious at that time.
 
This annoyed senators and prompted Estrada to cite him in contempt. 
 
But Mayor Siaton Fritz Diaz told the committee that Alabata, like any other police, may only be fearing for the safety of his family. 
 
Ong claimed Alabata was taking orders from P/Col. Crisaleo Tolentino, who is subsequently one of suspended Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr., who is being tagged as the mastermind behind the killing of Degamo and eight others.
 
Teves has sought political asylum in Timor Leste, which the Department of Justice (DOJ) said, was denied by the government.