Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin "Boying" C. Remulla has vowed to take immediate action following reports that Dalia Guerrero Pastor, the alleged co-conspirator in the murder of her husband, race car champion Ferdinand “Enzo” Pastor, has fled the country to hide in Indonesia or Malaysia.
This comes after the Supreme Court overturned a Court of Appeals (CA) ruling that dismissed the parricide charges against Dalia Pastor, reinstating the arrest warrant and hold departure order (HDO) against her.
Enzo Pastor, a renowned racing champion, was fatally shot approximately ten years ago while waiting at a traffic light along Visayas Avenue in Quezon City. A gunman approached his truck and killed him on the spot.
In addition to Dalia, two other individuals were implicated in Enzo's murder: Police Officer II Edgar Angel and Dalia's alleged lover, Domingo De Guzman. The Department of Justice (DOJ) initially charged all three in connection with the crime.
However, in 2015, Dalia managed to convince the CA to dismiss the charges against her, arguing that her knowledge of the murder plot was insufficient to establish her as the mastermind.
With the Supreme Court's recent decision overturning the CA ruling, Remulla has pledged to heed the calls of Enzo Pastor's family to work with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and other agencies to locate and apprehend Dalia abroad.
"The wheels of justice will not remain idle or passive now that the High Court has passed down its judgment, the DOJ will join our partner agencies in hunting down the mastermind of Enzo Pastor's murder," Sec Remulla stressed.
"We will also be working with our international counterparts to track down and extradite Dalia as soon as possible, ten years have passed and this is the time to prove that the present administration will do whatever it takes to get the job done at all costs," he added.