New witnesses refute Enzo Pastor’s ‘gunman’ denial

MANILA, Philippines – Two new witnesses on Wednesday, September 10, refuted the claim of the alleged gunman of race car driver Enzo Pastor that he was merely forced to confess to the crime.

Pastor was shot dead  on June 12, triggering one of the most sensational murder cases in recent history that involves the victim’s wife and her alleged lover.

Police officer 2 Edgar Angel later confessed to the crime, saying it was businessman Domingo “Sandy” de Guzman who ordered Pastor’s death. Pastor’s wife, Dahlia, also allegedly assisted in the crime, he added.

But on September 8, Angel took back his confession and said it was made under duress.

On Wednesday, Pastor’s parents Tomas and Remy submitted the affidavits of Paolo Salazar and Alvin Nidua.

Salazar was the race car driver’s helper and was with Pastor when he was gunned down. Nidua, meanwhile, is an alleged gun-for-hire who was allegedly also offered the job.

Pastor’s parents asserted that Nidua, Salzar, and another testimony would prove that De Guzman and Dahlia had Enzo killed.

‘Angel was Enzo’s killer’

Salazar said that when he went to the Quezon City Police District headquarters in Camp Karingal, he saw Angel and immediately recognized him as the gunman. In an affidavit written in Filipino, Salazar said he was sure Angel was the gunman because Angel “looked him in the eye” while he was shooting Pastor.

The Pastors also submitted a log of Dahlia’s phone which showed she was contacting Pastor and De Guzman on the day of the killing.

Nidua, meanwhile, said he was approached by a certain “Borbie Rivera,” a barangay leader of Tramo in Pasay City, and a certain Inspector Oco. The two allegedly told Nidua that Pastor was planning to kill “someone” but the target wanted to get to Pastor first.

The “someone” is allegedly De Guzman. The plan to hire him didn’t push through, Nidua said, because they couldn’t afford his P500,000 fee. Nidua is already under police custody but for different other crimes.

Pastor was supposedly angry at De Guzman for his alleged affair with Dahlia. The affair is something Chona Domen, nanny of the Pastor couple’s children, testified to. According to Domen, De Guzman would often visit the Pastor home whenever Enzo was out of the country.

Enzo confronted Dahlia over the alleged affair, which she denied.

Both De Guzman and Dahlia have been asked to appear before the justice department on October 6. De Guzman was previously detained for the possession of illegal firearms but has since been released on bail.

Dahlia, meanwhile, has yet to be seen since Angel confessed to the crime. – Rappler.com