‘WHY KILL TOTO DEL?’ Britanicos want to dig deeper into double murders

By Jennifer P. Rendon

 

No parent should have to bury their child.

And it would be doubly hurtful for a father to bury a son who was brutally murdered.

In an interview following the surrender of the second suspect in his son’s killing, former Barangay Association for National Advancement and Transparency (BANAT) party-list Rep. and former Iloilo Assemblyman Salvador “Buddy” Britanico talked about the grief their family endured for several months already.

It was like having a nightmare, Salvador said when he received reports that his son, Delfin, whom he fondly called Toto Del, was murdered afternoon of Jan. 19, 2020, at Barangay Nabitasan, La Paz, Iloilo City.

The 36-year-old Delfin was a resident of Mirasol Subdivision, Dicen Street, La Paz. He was driving his BMW motorcycle when persons on board a Mitsubishi Adventure AUV peppered him with bullets.

Ten empty shells of caliber .45 pistol were recovered from the crime scene.

Delfin’s shooting happened 30 minutes after gunmen also sprayed bullets at 42-year-old Alain Muller at Locsin Street in Barangay Cuartero, Jaro district. It turned out that the two were killed by the same gunmen.

“It’s just plain cruelty. Why do they have to kill Toto Del?” Salvador said.

On May 29, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed murder and theft charges against Police Corporals Jerry Villanueva, Joseph Andrew Joven, and two unidentified suspects.

Villanueva, who is assigned to the PNP Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit (RPHAU) based in Camp Delgado, Iloilo, was immediately placed under restrictive custody.

Joven, who was assigned to the ICPO Holding and Accounting Unit, has not reported for work since March 2020 when the ICPO ordered a random drug test on its personnel. He was later declared charged for being absent without official leave (AWOL) and failure to undergo drug test.

The Iloilo City police claimed they did not know Joven’s whereabouts until he surrendered to the NBI in Iloilo City Saturday evening.

In a statement, the National Bureau of Investigation said that “Joven admitted that he was the driver of the group.”

Further, subject Joven said that after killing Muller, they stopped at a vacant lot in Nabitasan, La Paz to strip off the white stickers from the Adventure. Del saw and confronted them so they shot Del to death.”

But Salvador said he could not fathom why the suspects killed his son.

“If they wanted the cellphone, they could have forcibly taken it from him. But they shot him. Ti naigo na sya, natumba na sya. Tani gin kuha na lang nila ang cellphone kung gingamit gid man ni Toto Del pagkuha picture sa ila. But why do they have to kill the person?”

That’s why they decided to file two cases – theft and murder.

“They already killed Toto Del when they took his cellphone,” Salvador said.

As it appeared that his son was simply a victim of circumstances – being at the wrong place at the wrong time – “my son doesn’t deserve it,” Salvador said

 

NO JUSTICE YET

Even with the filing of cases, Salvador said they have yet to find justice for Delfin’s death.

“Wala pa namon nakuha ang justice. After all, not all suspects have been accounted. I hope that all of them will surrender,” he said.

Salvador said it would be better for the other two suspects to surrender to mitigate or lighten their liabilities.

When asked if he wanted to have a talk with the suspects, Salvador did not give a categorical answer.

“We understand that the NBI has their own protocol. I don’t think we are allowed to be present when they’re under interrogation,” he said.

Salvador said that they’re also interested to know who are behind the assassination for the sake of Muller, whom he claimed was also a victim.

“The two killings originated from Muller. For the sake of fairness, we are also interested to know,” he said.

But what’s more important now for the family is to see the case through until justice is served.