Catanduanes gov, cop face murder raps over Larry Que slay

The common-law wife of slain journalist Larry Que on Tuesday filed murder complaints with the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Catanduanes Governor Joseph Cua, a policeman, and three other people over the killing last December.

Details of the complaints have been withheld by complainant Edralyn Pangilinan who accused Cua, PO1 Vincent Tacorda, Prince Lim Subion, and two unidentified men of murder.

Tacorda and the two unidentified men are also facing robbery charges.

Pangilinan said in a chance interview that Tacorda had confessed to local radioman Marlon Suplig about his participation in the crime.

Tacorda had already tendered his resignation, saying he could no longer stomach the alleged illegal activities of his colleagues, such as extrajudicial killings, corruption, and the planting of evidence.

He also said he was ordered by his superiors to kill a suspected drug personality who is reportedly an employee of the Department of Education.

Pangilinan, who also filed graft charges against Cua with the Office of the Ombudsman, said politics could be the motive for the killing of Que, a newspaper publisher. She did not elaborate.

Que was shot in the head by an unknown assailant last December 19 as he was about to enter the building housing his insurance office in Virac. He died the following day.

The gunman, who was wearing a bonnet and raincoat, fled the crime scene on a motorcycle driven by an accomplice.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines believes that Que's death was related to his column, written in Bicolano, about the shabu laboratory discovered by police and military forces on November 26 at Brgy. Palta Small.

Prior to his killing, Que had started his own investigation on the alleged drug activties, results of which were published in the December 13-19, 2016 issue of his newspaper, Catanduanes News Now.

In his stories, Que named Cua as the person responsible for the drug laboratory.

But Que was not able to publish the second issue of the newspaper and his “ultimate expose” — a history of Cua’s supposed involvement in the illegal drug trade in Catanduanes and other areas — after he was killed. — MDM, GMA News