Laguna Governor Ramil Hernandez said Friday that there is no proof yet of slain Los Baños mayor Caesar Perez’ alleged connection to the illegal drug trade.
Hernandez revealed that he advised Perez to just wait for the investigation results on the Los Baños mayor’s inclusion on President Rodrigo Duterte’s narco list.
“Hindi po siya komportable doon sa status po niya at bilang governor, lumapit po siya sa akin at humihingi ng tulong. Ang sabi ko naman sa kanya, hintayin natin ang normal na proseso niya at mawawala ka rin naman sa listahan,” Hernandez told Balitanghali in an interview.
The Laguna governor said he could not say if the mayor’s inclusion on the narco list were related to his killing. However, he noted that no evidence had been found linking Perez to the illegal drug trade so far.
“Ang alam ko ay doon na nga papunta, dahil ang tagal na wala pa ngang nakukuha o lumalabas na direct link or evidence na talagang involved siya, so sabi ko huwag siyang magalala, makiclear na rin siya diyan,” he said.
No proof yet on slain Los Baños mayor’s drug links – Laguna gov.
For Hernandez, if authorities had evidence of Perez’s alleged involvement in illegal drugs, they should have shown it by now.
“Personal assessment ko po, talagang papunta na doon dahil wala naman po talagang lumalabas na ebidensya unless otherwise may hawak ang pulis. Kung mayroon naman pong hawak sila eh di dapat matagal na pong nailabas ‘yan,” he said.
A complaint was filed against Perez before the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in 2019 over his alleged participation in the illegal drugs trade.
The Laguna governor said the investigation is still ongoing regarding the killing. Authorities are checking the CCTV footage in the area of the shooting incident, Hernandez said.
“Sa ngayon, wala pa ho tayong makuhang witness. ‘Yung CCTV ho nire-review na ng pulisya at within the day po magre-report sila sa akin ng update,” he said.
Hernandez said Los Baños mayor had mentioned threats to his life but did not provide details.
“Alam ko mayroon pero hindi naman siya ganoon ka-open na nagkukwento siya ng detalye. Basta ang sinasabi namin mag-ingat na lang siya,” he said.