SAN ISIDRO, Leyte-Mayor Remedio Veloso of this town vehemently denied that he was involved in the killing of a former administrator that happened in 2019.
Veloso made the strong denial in a press conference he called on April 17, adding that he could not afford to kill a human being.
“I cannot do that!” the town mayor said, sitting beside his lawyers, one of them is his son, Rem Beryl Veloso.
Mayor Veloso, together with his brother Emmanuel, and others were charged for murder filed by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group(CIDG)last April 17 on the murder of Levi Mabini, a former municipal administrator of this town.
The incident took place before the local elections in 2019. Mabini served under former mayor Susan Ang, whom Veloso defeated.
Veloso said that the charges filed against them were nothing but ‘all lies’ as even family members of Mabini were not consulted and have shocked them.
In fact, the family has signed an affidavit stating that Mayor Veloso was not involved in the killing of Mabini, lawyer Jay Viagedor, a member of the legal team, said in the same press conference.
He also maintained that it was ‘politically motivated’ and intended to harass and tarnish their reputation.
Atty. Veloso also said that a similar complaint was filed against his father but was dismissed by the Assistant Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in Calubian, also in Leyte.
They were also surprised that the case was filed four years after the incident happened with most of the witnesses were their relatives.
To prove that they are innocent, Mayor Veloso and his brother, Emmanuel are visible in their town, the lawyer added.
(ROBERT DEJON)
