De Lima urges NBI to take over probe of sniper assassinations

Senator Leila de Lima on Sunday expressed alarm at the prevalence of “sniper assassinations” in the country following the recent killings of three radio personalities who were reportedly murdered by snipers.

The detained senator said the killings of radio blocktimer Reynante “Rey” Cortes last July 22 and lawyer-radio hosts Hilda Mahinay-Sapie and her husband Muhaimen Mohammad Sapie last July 14 should prompt the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to take over the investigation.

“Nakakabahala ang dalawang magkasunod na balita na sniper ang pumatay sa tatlong radio personalities, dalawa sa Davao at isa naman sa Cebu,” she said in a dispatch from Camp Crame.

“Aside from their chilling effect on radio personalities and the media in general, the three consecutive murders tell us that other than the usual riding-in-tandem modus, snipers are now being used as assassins as well,” De Lima added.

De Lima said she was troubled by the idea that not just anyone can be a sniper, saying that snipers are exclusively highly-skilled military or police personnel, trained in the AFP or PNP special forces.

“These killers should be easy to trace. All that one needs is a roster of all trained snipers of the AFP and PNP, both in the active service or retired, with focus on those with extensive combat experience and those dishonorably discharged from the service,” she said.

“This does not mean that the assassins are conclusively from the AFP or PNP, but it is a place to start the investigations, rather than simply add these cases to the PNP’s list of unsolved crimes,” she said.

“Better yet, the NBI should take over the investigation of high-profile assassinations, whether involving snipers or riding-in-tandems,” De Lima added.

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Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)