Police have determined that the suspects in the slay of a pastor in Pavia town, Province of Iloilo are not hired gunmen.
According to the Pavia Police, the pastor has a "huge debt" to the three suspects that reached over P100,000 because of an online loan and investment venture.
The pastor identified as Douglas Jover, 63 years old and a veterinarian by profession, was shot dead inside his car evening on January 10, 2025.
A closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera captured the moment before and after the slay of the pastor in Barangay Anilao, Pavia with the three persons spotted in the scenes.
“Ang mga nakikita naming suspects dito sila mismo, ang inutangan ni pastor. Direct na pag-utang sa mga suspect natin,” according to Lieutenant Gabriel Manguera, deputy chief of police of the Pavia Municipal Police Station.
To recall, the first CCTV footage showed of the suspects waiting at the intersection of Barangay Pagsangaan. It is believed that one of them flagged the pastor’s car near a bridge connecting Pagsangaan to Anilao, and is the gunman.
Lt. Manguera said that based on their investigation, the family of the victim has limited information on the said loans.
The family said that Jover did not mention to them of any problems about money or loans.
“Cooperative naman ang family pero based sa kanilang observation kay Pastor, si Pastor ay very secretive na hindi na sini-share ang mga problems niya,” Lt. Manguera said.
The Pavia Police are set to file murder charges against the three suspects on January 17, 2025, but are yet waiting for additional documents to support the case.
“Yung hinihintay pa natin is either darating ngayon or bukas kaya there is a possibility talaga na before this weekend. Ginagawa namin ang best namin para ma-file na namin ang kaso,” Manguera added.
GMA Regional TV One Western Visayas went to the house of the victim again, but no one came out to accommodate questions from the news team.
The news team learned from a separate source that the wake is set on January 20, 2025 at a funeral parlor in La Paz, Iloilo City.
