CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – Witnesses identified the alleged gunman and a lookout in the May 9 shooting death of 2023 Mister Cagayan de Oro candidate Adriane Rovic Fornillos through CCTV footage.

The alleged lookout led police investigators to Lapasan Baptist Church Bishop Dimver Andales, who was accused of masterminding the murder.

Copies of an affidavit and the resolution of Cagayan de Oro prosecutors, obtained by Rappler on Tuesday, October 17, showed that Andales’ driver, Pastor Jethert Nonot, was identified as the lookout.

The resolution showed three John Does, although in the affidavit of the key witness, the name of the another suspect surfaced.

The documents submitted to court showed that the 26-year-old girlfriend of Fornillos identified Nonot as one of the men caught in the CCTV footage on the night of the May 9 murder. The footage was obtained by the police.

Dina (not her real name) referred to Nonot as “Kuya” (big brother). She said she personally knows Nonot because he was with Andales several times when the bishop went to see her.

“I was surprised. I positively identified it (sic) as a.k.a. Kuya, the driver and escort of Dimver Andales, my ex-boyfriend,” read part of Dina’s sworn statement.

Dina alleged that Andales made her choose between him and Fornillos, and threatened to have him killed a day earlier.

She alleged that the preacher became angry when she told him she chose Fornillas over him.

Dina alleged that the minister then accused her of milking him for money.

Fornillos was attacked the following night, May 9, and died in a hospital on May 10.

Dina also alleged that the minister would later discreetly tell her during Fornillos’ wake that the victim was killed because of her.

Andales and Nonot were arrested on Monday, October 16, based on a court warrant issued in connection with the murder case filed by Fornillos’ mother, Rutchie.

The bishop and Nonot, a “junior pastor,” have been detained at the Cagayan de Oro City Jail in Barangay Lumbia since then.

Nonot has strongly denied his participation in the murder of Fornillos.

He said he was in Initao town, Misamis Oriental, earlier that day, returned to the Lapasan Baptist Church around 5 pm, and slept at around 8 pm after tending to his son.

The 24-year-old victim was shot in Barangay Nazareth, Cagayan de Oro, earlier that night.

Lieutenant Colonel Evan Viñas, spokesman of the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office, said Dina has cooperated with the police since the start of the investigation.

Viñas said Dina also gave her mobile phone, a Samsung S23 Ultra, to a police cybercrime unit who allegedly found text messages between her and Andales, and other evidence.

Dina is just one of the 11 witnesses in the 14-page resolution of prosecutors, which greenlit the filing of the murder case.

Andales has denied the accusations that he masterminded the killing and maintained his innocence in earlier interviews.

He has also denied being a “sugar daddy” who showered Dina with money and expensive gifts.

“The allegations against me are untrue,” Andales told local broadcaster iFM-CDO in an earlier interview.

In her sworn statement, Dina alleged that she has proof that Andales had been regularly sending her money since 2019.

Andales’ lawyer, Rhobert Maestre, said on Tuesday that the case against his client was weak and circumstantial.

He said they would ask a court to allow Andales to bail out because of the “weak” evidence. – Rappler.com