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MANILA, Philippines – Cavite provincial prosecutor and former state prosecutor Emmanuel “Manny” Velasco died of a heart attack on Monday, May 20.
He was 54.
According to a DZMM report quoting prosecutor Imee Villarin, Velasco died at 4am and was proclaimed dead on arrival in Divine Grace Hospital.
Through his work, Velasco was involved in a string of high-profile cases.
As a state prosecutor under the time of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales, he was part of the probe on Jonas Burgos’ disappearance and led the panel of prosecutors that filed rebellion charges against the 36 military officers and civilians involved in the November 2007 Manila Peninsula standoff. Among them were Sen Antonio Trillanes IV, former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr, Fr Robert Reyes, Bishop Julio Labayen, and lawyers J.V. Bautista and Yassir Gonzales.
A former reporter of Malaya who covered the defense and police beats, Velasco later assumed the post of Cavite provincial prosecutor. His father, Epimaco Velasco, was governor of Cavite from 1995-1998, between serving as National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director and Interior Secretary under President Fidel Ramos.
In Cavite, the younger Velasco also probed the shooting rampage in January that killed 8 and wounded 9, and just last week, was on the scene investigating the stand-off outside the Revilla compound on election day.
Velasco, since his time in the province, has faced stressful circumstances outside his job. In 2012, a Regional Trial Court in Manila found Velasco guilty of libel and ordered him to serve in prison for at least a year, a decision he was able to appeal. Late last year, he also received death threats from a businessman who was facing falsification charges. – Rappler.com
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