PNP THOROUGHLY CHECKING ON SLAIN ABRA LAWYER’S BACKGROUND

September 22, 2023 Headlines

BANGUED, Abra

Police investigators are into deep checking on slain lawyer Maria Saniata Liwliwa Gonzales Alzate’s
background which might lead them into the assassins including answers to questions why she was killed on broad daylight Thursday afternoon last week. Athough, “we have persons-of-interest already,” assured Cordillera police director Brig. General David Peredo.

The police official who ordered a hot pursuit operation just after Alzate’s murder right infront of their house said, ‘there is still no definitive answers why the lady-lawyer was killed.’ Gunmen riding-in-tandem pumped at least 8 bullets at close range at the lady lawyer, who was inside her white Mitsubishi Mirage G4 sedan bearing plate number AVA 6533 parked in front of their gate
along Santiago St., Zone 3, Bangued, Abra 4:55 on September 14.

She was declared dead-on-arrival Gunmen riding-in-tandem pumped at least 8 bullets at close range at the lady lawyer, who was still inside her white Mitsubishi Mirage G4 sedan bearing plate number AVA 6533 parked in front of their gate along Santiago St., Zone 3, Bangued, Abra 4:55 Thursday afternoon. She was declared dead-on-arrival (5:05PM) ten minutes later the Seares
Memorial Hospital, also in Bangued.

Two still unidentified male persons wearing blue polo shirt and dark cap fled fled towards Brgy. Consiliman, Zone 2, also in Bangued, as captured by CCTV cameras. The victim’s husband, former Regional Trial Court Judge Raphiel F. Alzate said he doesn’t know of any death threat being received by his wife. The former RTC Judge earlier expressed dismay over the slowpaced investigation. ”Seems walang action ang mga pulis,” he said in a text message last Friday.

“Major background detail” Mid-September in 2020, the Supreme Court dismissed the former RTC Judge due to irregularities in handing down decisions on marriage annulment cases before his court at the Cabugao, Ilocos Sur Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 24, and Bucay, Abra RTC Branch 58. The SC found Alzate guilty of gross ignorance of the law and gross misconduct via a unanimous ruling. All of his benefits were forfeited except accrued leave benefits and was perpetually disqualified from public office.

The SC also investigated the lady-lawyer victim on her alleged participation in the questioned
decisions on the annulment of marriage cases issued by her husband. But the former Judge refused
to dignify his wife’s alleged involvement on his dismissal stemming from reports reaching the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) which conducted a judicial audit on Cabugao, Ilocos Sur RTC with the killing.

The OCA audit team found the former Judge was issuing decisions on nullity of marriages for financial considerations, which according to the SC “is a wanton disregard of the rules of procedures in the declaration of nullity of marriage cases”. The OCA even identified and confirmed cases where parties were not actual residents of the municipalities under the territorial jurisdiction of Alzate’s sala.

Artemio A. Dumlao/ABN