PNP to continue investigating slain prosecutor’s death — Albayalde

MANILA, Philipines – Philippine National Police Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said Wednesday, June 6, the police will continue digging deeper into the case of slain Ombudsman assistant special prosecutor Madonna Joy Ednaco Tanyag even though it has been declared “solved.”

“As of this moment, we don’t see other motives but we will persist [to investigate],” Albayalde said in Filipino after visiting the wake of the slain prosecutor at St Peter Memorial Chapels, Quezon City.

The case was considered solved because a suspect has confessed and formal charges have been filed.

Angelito Avenido, the jeepney barker and suspect to the killing, has been slapped with robbery with homicide charges only a day after he was arrested.

This does not however mean that the case is already closed as Albayalde said that investigations will still continue.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, Albayalde described Avenido as a drug user who robbed to buy illegal drugs. Avenido, however was not on any drug watchlist.

Although the suspect was believed to have worked alone and the motive has been identified as plain and simple robbery, the cops were also exploring other possible motives that may link Tanyag’s death to her work.

Tanyag’s cellphone was recovered on Tuesday. It is now currently being investigated for other possible leads.

Tanyag was an assistant prosecutor at the office of the Ombudsman for two years, and worked on high-profile cases involving corrupt government officials.

Some of the cases she handled before her untimely death involved former Makati Mayor Elenita Binay, Isabela Province Mayor Nestor Malasig Uy, former Merida Mayor Rodrigo Wenceslao, former Iloilo representative Judy Syjuco, Barili Mayor Teresito Marinas, former Davao del Sur Representative Marc Douglas Cagas IV, former Tuguegarao City mayor Delfin Telan Ting, former Caloocan City mayor Enrico Echiverri, former Aloguinsan mayor Cynthia Moreno, and former Norala, South Cotabato mayor Romeo Januto.

She was also among the prosecutors who handled the Malampaya fund scam which involved former budget secterary, now Camarines Sur Representative Rolando Andaya Jr, and former agrarian reform secretary and incumbent Masui town Mayor Nasser Pangandaman. 

Appreciated

Meanwhile, Tanyag’s family thanked the PNP for its swift action on the killing.

Cris Tanyag, the husband of the victim, said he also went to Camp Caringal Wednesday morning to thank the other police officers who worked on the case of her wife.

Tanyag was stabbed to death in front of a lottery outlet in Quezon City as she was entering her vehicle. She was 5 months pregnant and a mother to a two-year old girl. She was the only daughter of single mother Marissa Ednaco who was also a prosecutor in Pasay City. – Rappler.com