ILOILO City – In filing a murder complaint against 10 persons in relation to the death of businesswoman Claire Diergos of Pavia, Iloilo, her family aided by the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) purely relied on circumstantial evidence drawn from the statements of 10 persons who voluntarily submitted affidavits.
None of these persons claimed in their affidavits to have seen any of the respondents kill Diergos, a 36-year-old single mother. Now, the Iloilo Provincial Prosecutor’s Office where the complaint was filed on Jan. 5 would weigh (preliminary investigation) if the circumstantial evidence gathered by the IPPO’s special investigation team are adequate to establish probable cause or if this meet established standards of proof.
Of the 10 the respondents in the complaint, two remain unidentified – a man and a woman. Of the eight identified, seven have so far been named by enterprising broadcast journalists because the IPPO has refused to make public the complaint.
From what radio station DYRI RMN-Iloilo gathered from its sources, the respondents were the following:
* Peter Paul Lopez
* Saliha “Sally” Lopez
* Carlos Paul Lopez
* Felix Paul Lopez
* Raffy Sorioso
* Gardo Ibrahim
* Rudelyn Sumbog
Peter Paul Lopez is a former mayor of San Dionisio, Iloilo. Sally is his wife who is running for vice mayor in San Dionisio and Carlos and Felix are his sons.
Sorioso and Ibrahim are residents of San Dionisio.
The Lopezes were the previous owners of Diergo’s Mitsubishi Montero Sport where she was found dead with multiple stab wounds in the afternoon of Oct. 26, 2021 in Barangay Inangayan, Santa Barbara, Iloilo.
‘MY CLIENTS HAVE NO MOTIVE’
The Lopez family declined to issue a statement on Friday, pointing out that they have yet to receive subpoena and their copy of the complaint.
On Friday night, their legal counsel Atty. Dwight Trasadas spoke to DYOK Aksyon Radyo Iloilo.
“Isa lang ma-assure ko. My clients have no motive whatsoever to commit the alleged crime. Wala gid sang rason nga ipapatay abe sang kliyente ko nga ginatumod ninyo ang biktima. Our documents would show nga sa company nila, while borrower ni nila [si Diergos], good payor man. So wala man kami sang may nakita nga anggulo nga rason nga kinahanglan abe nila ipapatay or i-assassinate si Diergos. Wala man sila sang inaway,” said Trasadas.
The lawyer confirmed that the Lopezes have yet to receive subpoenas and/or copies of the complaint. He, however, shared an observation.
“Based on what I have gathered from the news reports, it would seem that the police officers are in a quandary as to the filing of this case kay kun lantawon naton daw indi sila sigurado kun sin-o ang file-lan nila sang kaso. As a matter of fact, naka-file na sila [sang] kaso, indi gani nila pag-mention kun sin-o gin-file-lan,” said Trasadas.
He added: “Indi man ni ‘ya pwede nga ma-file ka sang kaso nga you should not inform the respondent that the case was filed against him because it’s part of the procedural rights sang akusado or sang ina nga kaso.”
Earlier on Friday, a son of Peter Paul Lopez, Christian Paul, posted on Facebook, “We are not killers. Maguba man kami sa image sang iban pero batuan namon ang kamatuoran. We are car dealers, but surely we are not killers.”
He subsequently deleted his post.
AFFIDAVITS
One witness claimed that on Oct. 26, 2021 at around 9:55 a.m., she saw a red vehicle stopping near Diergos’ Montero Sport parked along the road in Barangay Inangayan, Santa Barbara, Iloilo.
The witness claimed seeing a woman in the red vehicle taking photos of the Montero Sport then left, and that also inside the vehicle was a man.
The witness said she had no idea who the man and woman were but gave their descriptions to the police anyway. A computerized facial composite sketch was produced.
“Nakilala ko lang sila sang ginkumpara ni PCMS Cyrus Librando ang ginhatag ko sa iya nga deskripsyon paagi sa Computerized Facial Composite Sketch sa aktwal nga litrato sang ila mga ginasuspetsahan kag sa mga lain-lain pa gid nga mga litrato nga ginpakita sa akon sang iban nga kapulisan,” according to the witness.
The witness said she was referring to Saliha “Sally” Lopez and Carlos Paul Lopez.
Another witness, as reported by RMN-Iloilo, claimed in an affidavit seeing Raffy Sorioso and Gardo Ibrahim leaving Diergos’ house at Deca Homes subdivision in Pavia, Iloilo before dawn on Oct. 25, 2021 onboard the businesswoman’s Montero Sport.
The IPPO’s special investigation team concluded last year that Diergos’ house was the primary crime scene, it was where she was killed between late night of Oct. 24, 2021 and before dawn of Oct. 25, 2021, and that her body and vehicle were just abandoned in Barangay Inangayan, Santa Barbara.
The witness claimed seeing Sorioso and Ibrahim helping one another carry something quite heavy and putting this inside the Montero Sport, and that after the men left, a woman emerged from Diergo’s house and closed the gate.
According to the witness, from television reports about the Diergos case he saw photos of this woman and learned that she was Diergos’ newly hired house help, Rodelyn Sumbong.
In previous statements she issued, Sumbong claimed having no idea of the crime (the killing of Diergos) that the IPPO’s special investigation team determined to have taken place at the businesswoman’s house between late night of Oct. 24, 2021 and the wee hours of Oct. 25, 2021. She said she was fast asleep, according to Sumbong, and that when she woke up in the morning her employer was no longer in the house and she had no idea of her whereabouts.
As for the inclusion of Peter Paul Lopez and son Felix Paul in the complaint, the IPPO has opted not to discuss it. It is even reluctant to name all the respondents. In a statement, IPPO director Police Colonel Gilbert Diergos explained:
“Na-file na namon ang kaso sa fiscal’s office for preliminary investigation. The reason we are not disclosing the identity of the suspects is not to preempt the findings of the investigating prosecutor. The case is not yet filed in court and under the disposition of prosecuting fiscal. Also, based on FOI (Freedom of Information, Exemption to Right of Access to information), paragraph 4, states: ‘Information deemed confidential or for the protection of the privacy of persons and certain individuals such as minors, victims of crime or the accused.’”/PN
