MANILA – Loremae Sorima has lost a brother to unknown assassins since being tagged as a person of interest in the June 27 Bulacan massacre of Dexter Carlos’ family, but she holds out hope her husband Alvin Mabesa, who was abducted after also being tagged a person of interest, is still alive.
On Tuesday, she appealed to those holding him to set him free and safe. She appealed to authorities to solve the case once and for all, expressing fear that the offer of huge rewards for witnesses may have sparked the finger-pointing spree that left three of five persons of interest all murdered in less than a week.
After the police provincial director of Bulacan warned that the San Jose del Monte chief will be dismissed if another person of interest dies, Loremae held out hope of a genuine investigation that will ferret out who really killed the wife, mother in law and three children of security guard Dexter Carlos.
Asked if she had a sense her husband Alvin is still alive, Sorima said, yes.
She denied rumors her husband was a drug addict, and that the family was just hiding Alvin in order to throw off investigators.
She said her husband is a good man and could not have been part of the group that entered the Carlos residence, raped Carlos’ wife and repeatedly stabbed the five family members.
“Hindi po yun totoo, gawa gawa lang ‘yun, kwento kwento lang ‘yun. Kahit sino naman magkukuwento ng ganun dahil lang sa pera. ‘Yung pera sa award, ‘yun ang pinag-aagawan kaya kung sino sino na ang witness nila. Kahit sino naman gagawin yun para lang sa pera [That’s not true. Anyone can make up stories especially if there’s a big sum offered. The reward money, that’s what everyone is after now],” she said.
Last week, as President Duterte visited the Carlos family wake, Loremae’s brother Rosevelth Sorima, tagged a person of interest, was shot dead by unknown gunmen in their home.
Last Tuesday (July 4), the first person of interest in the Bulacan Massacre, Ronaldo Pacinos alias “Inggo,” was found dead with stabbing wounds, and some fingers cut off.
Then, on Saturday, police were alerted to the body along the roadside in San Miguel town, Bulacan–and it turned out to be that of a third person of interest, Anthony Garcia.
His face was covered with duct tape, and a placard with the words. “Addict at rapist ako. Huwag tularan [I am an addict and rapist; don’t imitate me]” was placed by his corpse. It was signed by “BDS,” an apparent imitation of the “DDS” or Davao Death Squad, though police refused to speculate on what the acronym meant.
Gunshot wounds were seen on his forehead and body, and he showed signs of strangulation.
A spot report by the San Miguel PNP said police received a call about 6am about a body found on the roadside.
Earlier, the San Miguel PNP were alerted by Garcia’s relatives after unidentified armed men seized him at dawn. The men wore bonnets and dragged Garcia to a green AUV with no license plate.
Mourners few, scared
According to Loremae, few people are going to her brother Rosevelth’s wake because they – the men, especially – are scared of being tagged “person of interest” and being summarily executed.
“You can count on your fingers those who came to condole. Most of them are women, because the men are afraid of being dragged into the case even if they’re innocent,” she told News5, in Filipino.
They also do not rule out the possibility that Carlos may be encouraging vendetta killings.
“Alam ko iisa lang yung gumawa nito saka kumuha sa asawa ko. Sana po ibalik niyo na po, wala namang kasalanan ang asawa ko. Matino po siya, hindi po siya basagulero, hindi po siya nag-iinom o nagtatambay [I know there’s only one group that did this and took my husband. Please return him to me; he is not a troublemaker, a drunkard nor a bum].”
“Bakit naman po ganun, iniisa isa niyo na po, hindi naman siya yung gumawa. Sana ibalik niyo na ‘yung asawa ko, may anak pa kami [Why did you take him, when he’s innocent. I hope you’d return him to me; we have a child, you know].”
