AFTER its third case conference, the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) assigned to the case on the murder of Reynante Cortes has identified three persons of interest who could have possibly shot the radio blocktimer dead.
These persons of interest have been summoned by the investigators and asked for their statements.
According to Cebu City Police Office chief Police Colonel Josefino Ligan, although the persons of interest have been identified and summoned, they cannot be called suspects yet as the police still have to obtain more evidence.
“There are assumptions and there’s a possibility that in one way or another, these persons were involved in Cortes’ death. But with the circumstances, as we investigate further, they can also be eliminated as suspects if their presence or involvement does not fit or match the evidence,” said Ligan.
He added that they identified the persons of interest based on the accounts of the residents who were near the area where Cortes was shot, and on the statements of the victim’s family.
Meanwhile, the SITG will request the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory to launch another round of cross-matching of the bullet obtained from the crime scene, following a similar incident in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental.
Ligan said they will compare it with the bullet recovered by the Region 6 police as it’s the same type of bullet used, marked by the absence of lands and grooves.
Cortes was shot dead by an unknown assailant outside his workplace in Brgy. Mambaling, Cebu City in the morning of July 22, 2021. (AYB / CCP)