Durterte rewards tipster in Enzo Pastor murder case

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte with Lawyer Salvador Panelo. JULLIANE DE JESUS/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte kept his promise and personally gave on Monday the P1 million to the tipsters who gave information to the police that led to the arrest of murdered car racer and motorsports proponent Ferdinand “Enzo” Pastor’s alleged gunman.

Two informants who tipped the police on the whereabouts of the now-detained Pasay policeman Police Officer 2 Edgar Angel received the million-peso reward from Duterte during the weekly flag-raising ceremony at Camp Crame.

In an ambush interview, Duterte said Angel’s recantation was a “lie.”

“What’s really the truth is the first one he executed. That’s defense mechanism to twist the story,” he said.

“That’s (recantation) the usual gimmick of the defense panel,” ‎the Mayor said.

Days after his arrest in Quezon City on August 23, Angel, claiming he was a fall guy, retracted his initial claims that he ‎shot and killed the 32-year-old racer on the orders of businessman Domingo “Sandy” de Guzman–the alleged lover of Pastor’s wife, Dalia Guerrero.

On the night of June 12, Pastor was ambushed by a motorcycle-riding man while driving at the corner of Congressional and Visayas Avenues.

Duterte, who is a longtime friend of Pastor, offered a P1 million-reward in July for anyone who could give information that would lead to the arrest of the murder suspects. -Julliane Love De Jesus