Police Capt. Kenneth Paul Alborta (Quad-comm media)

The police officer implicated in the assassination of former Tanauan, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili was cited for contempt and ordered detained on Tuesday night, Oct. 22 by the House quad-committee (quad-comm).

Held within House premises indefinitely, or until the end of the quad-comm imquiy, was Police Capt. Kenneth Paul Alborta.

Abang Lingkod Party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen "Caraps" Paduano moved to cite Albotra in contempt after the latter claimed he did not know the motive behind the killing of one of his subordinates and the relief of another in 2018.

“Napakasinungaling nito, Mr. Chairman. Kung hindi mo ma-corner, ‘di sasagot ng tama. Bata mo ‘yung dalawa, hindi mo alam?” said Paduano, whose motion was swiftly carried by overall quad-comm chairman, Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers.

(He's a big liar, Mr. Chairman. Unless you corner him, he won't tell you the truth. They're you're subordinates, and you don't know?)

Halili, known for publicly parading suspected criminals, was shot by a sniper during a flag-raising ceremony in July 2018, or during the Duterte presidency.

Based on the recent testimony of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager and retired police colonel Royina Garma, Halili's assassination was a case of extrajuducial killing or EJK.

During the committee’s Oct. 11 hearing, Garma confirmed the existence of a reward system for police officers who killed drug suspects during the previous administration’s controversial anti-drug campaign.

In the course of her testimony, Garma recounted a conversation with Albotra in which he bragged about his involvement in the assassination of Halili. The mayor had apparently been included in former president Rodrigo Duterte’s “narco-list.”

In the marathon hearing Tuesday that lapsed into Wednesday, Oct. 23, Albotra denied Garma’s assertions, and dismissed them as “pure chismis (gossip)”. He even threatened to sue Garma for the allegations.

But Garma stood her ground and insisted that Albotra was the one who had approached her with the information.

HAVE YOU READ THIS?

https://mb.com.ph/2024/10/12/garma-provides-possible-lead


“Makukunsensya din po ‘yan kasi (This will be on his conscience because) I treated him very well when I was the [Police] Director of Cebu City,” Garma said.

“If he will sue me, I will face it. But I can look straight in his eyes. I am not lying, and he’s lying and cowardly for not mentioning the names he knows were involved in Mayor Halili’s killing. He knows it.”

'Fall guy' in Mayor Caesar Perez killing

Also on Tuesday, the mega-panel heard the testimony of a former councilor accused of masterminding the assassination of Los Baños, Laguna Mayor Caesar Perez in December 2020.

Norvin Tamisin, who was jailed for seven months following his arrest in November 2021, claimed that police authorities framed him as a “fall guy” to swiftly close the case and classify it as solved.

Perez was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen inside the municipal hall compound on December 3, 2020. His name had also been included in Duterte’s controversial narco-list.

In 2016, Duterte publicly read out a list of around 160 public officials he accused of being involved in the narcotics trade.

These officials were labeled as “narco-politicians,” and many were later killed in alleged police encounters or assassinated by unidentified assailants, including snipers.