The lawyer of missing businessman Allan Fajardo, a former aide of the slain Mayor Antonio Halili, alleged today that the police may have been behind the kidnapping of his client.
In an interview on radio station DZMM today, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said that the kidnappers’ tactical precision is a sign that they underwent police training. Topacio based his observation on CCTV footage which the ABS-CBN News show TV Patrol aired yesterday.
He said in Filipino: “If you watch the CCTV [footage from the hotel] the way they cascaded into the hotel, according to those who understand it…they have the tactical training [similar to the police]. There’s precision in it.”
Fajardo and his aide Ricky Atienza were abducted inside Misto restaurant at the Seda Nuvali Hotel in Sta. Rosa in Laguna on April 3, Rappler reported. Around 15 armed men — who were dressed in full battle gear — took the two men.
Prior to his kidnapping, Fajardo was known as the leader of the late Halili’s anti-crime group in Tanuan, Batangas, where the latter was the mayor.
In his interview, Topacio also said that it was apparent that the kidnappers knew their way around Seda.
“It’s obvious that they knew the layout of the place before they entered. Inside Misto, they knew where to go,” he said.
Topacio maintained that Fajardo has done nothing wrong to deserve being abducted.
“He knows he hasn’t been charged with any case, he doesn’t have a standing warrant. There are no pending cases against him,” Topacio said.
On Monday, Topacio announced that Fajardo’s family will file a case against Seda in connection with the businessman’s kidnapping. Topacio said that they will sue because the hotel allegedly failed to institute the necessary security measures to protect Fajardo, reported The Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Topacio said the van from which the kidnappers came from was allegedly seen within the hotel’s vicinity at least an hour before Fajardo’s actual abduction.
“They (kidnappers) were not accosted, they were not questioned on what they are doing there [in the hotel],” Topacio said.
It was also on Monday that Topacio announced that they are offering PHP2 million (US$38,496) as a reward to anyone who could provide information to Fajardo’s whereabouts, reported Inquirer. The Fajardo family initially offered PHP1 million (US$19,246) last week.
Fajardo feared for his life after Halili was assassinated in broad daylight in July last year, reported Philippine Star. He maintained that he was a legitimate businessman after authorities accused him of being the leader of the Fajardo criminal syndicate, which is allegedly involved in drug deals and killings in Batangas.
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