Nueva Ecija priest’s killer not a ‘fall guy’ — PNP

The Philippine National Police (PNP) is firm on its stand that the arrested suspect in the killing of Catholic priest Fr. Richmond Nilo was the gunman.

At a press briefing, PNP chief Director General Oscar Albayalde stressed that suspect Adell Milan is not a “fall guy.”

“We can assure the public that the PNP will not make Milan a fall guy because it was the young altar server, who is under the care of the priests, who pointed to him (Milan),” Albayalde said.

“The PNP never talked or took care of him (altar server). The only time that we were able to meet that boy was when I visited Zaragosa, at the wake of Father Nilo, he was showed to me and that was it,” he added.

According to Albayalde, the altar server claimed that he was two meters away from the crime scene.

“He said he saw the assailant face to face…he was about two meters away so he is really sure about the gunman and accordingly when he saw him (Milan) he went into tears,” Albayalde said.

Police investigators showed Milan to the witness three times on different occasions — first when he was shown with the rogue gallery, and he was asked several times even by the priests if he was sure.

“And he said, ‘yes’ he was sure that he (Milan) was the one who shot Father Nilo,” Albayalde said.

The chief PNP dismissed as alibi the claim of Milan’s companions that he was on a drinking session when Nilo was killed.

“That will be his alibi. On our part, we based (the arrest) to the statement of the boy, that is a solid evidence because he was pinpointed by the boy. If we did not file charges against him then what would CBCP (Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines) say to us?” Albayalde asked.

Milan was arrested by police operatives last June 15 in Barangay Malapit in San Isidro also in Nueva Ecija.

Police said that four to five more suspects are currently still being tracked down.

Earlier, the Special Investigation Task Force (SITG) “Nilo” was able to establish that there were at least five suspects involved in the crime — two motorcycle-riding armed men who went to Mayamot Chapel in Barangay Mayamot, Zaragosa where Nilo was shot dead while preparing to conduct a Mass.

Police said that three others served as lookout and used a getaway vehicle seen in CCTV footages gathered by SITG “Nilo.”

“What is important here is we do not stop with our investigation, we are still on our follow-up operation. We still have to look for four to five people,” Albayalde said.

The PNP chief added that three angles are still the focus of the ongoing investigation — Nilo’s active assistance to rape victims, those oppressed in land dispute and his criticisms to another religious group.