Uson kin hit probers

Posted on February 10, 2003 - Filed Under News |

LINGAYEN — The  relatives of the late Regional Trial Court Judge Oscar ‘Gary’ Uson of Branch 53 in Tayug are still crying for justice.

More than four  months after the brutal slaying of the judge, investigators from Task Force Uson are still groping in the dark  for  the killers  and their mastermind.   

They suspect that  the brutal slaying of  the fighting  judge may now have   finally joined the long list of unsolved crimes.

They said  that although the slaying of  the RTC judge was one of the high profile cases in Pangasinan,  it appears that the investigation has already lost   steam because of the unusual silence of the  investigators

They also  wondered over   what may have happened to the Task Force Uson created by Police Regional Director Arturo Lomibao to go after the killers. Have they  found any clue to the killing?

They want to find out  whether the task force has any  suspect  in mind now or when it is going to file a case in court and against whom.  

Task Force Uson is headed by Police Deputy Regional Director Wilmer Panabang. Its members are from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG),  National Bureau of Investigation, the chiefs of police of Sta. Maria and Asingan and the director of the 107th Police Mobile Group.

While the task force was tracking Uson’s killers, the NBI—on its own—were going after those who shot and wounded lawyer Albert Buyawi from Ifugao and his driver, Alfonso Buclay.

The latest report is that investigators were checking on whether those who shot and wounded Buyawi and his driver along the Asingan-Sta, Maria bridge in the morning of September 27 were the same ones who ambushed Judge Uson  in the afternoon  at past 4:00 p.m. on the same stretch.

After shooting at Buyawi and Buclay, the gunmen who were riding on motorcycles approached the victims and asked Buyawi whether he was Judge Uson. When he replied in the negative, the gunmen sped away.

Another  report said that Buclay executed an affidavit identifying one of the suspects who was tagged as a possible hired killers. But few days later, he recanted his statement,  the first   draw -back to the investigation.     

Relatives of Judge Uson  questioned why investigators did not  further pursue the case  even if Buclay and Buyawi recanted  because  under the ruling of the Supreme Court, the two any way  can be called to testify,  even as hostile witnesses.

They said that while  in the killing of a judge in Davao, there was no witness at all   in the brutal slaying of Judge Uson, there were three witnesses—Buyawi, Buclay and a 3rd  companion who at that time   sitting in the back of their car,  who might   have heard one of the suspects asking Buyawi: “Are you Judge Uson?”   

The first shooting   incident could have been a possible case of mistaken identity as Buyawi and companions were riding on a Nissan Frontier pick-up colored maroon bound southward on their way to San Jose City.

Judge Uson wasg in his own Mercedes Benz, also colored maroon, and was going to Urdaneta when he was ambushed on the Asingay bridge.

It is possible that Buyawi and Buclay might have already been intimidated by the killers and mastermind.

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