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Paranaque court issues arrest warrants for two indicted for murder of Japanese businessman
A Paranaque City court issued arrest warrants against two people
indicted for the murder of Japanese businessman Hiroshi Iwasaki in May
2014.
Judge Fortunito Madrona of the Paranaque Regional Trial Court Branch 274
ordered the arrest of Edna Falcatan Ogura, one of the alleged masterminds, and Jovanni Darama, part of the group who killed Iwasaki. Darama later turned witness.
Madrona instructed law enforcement agencies to arrest the two and bring them to court to stand trial.
The arrest warrant, provided by a source, was signed by Madrona on July 27.
The warrant of arrest was issued more than a week after the Office of the City Prosecutor of Paranaque filed cases of murder against Ogura and Darama.
The five-page resolution dated July 13 and signed by Deputy City Prosecutor Napoleon Rarmolete cited "uncontroverted circumstances" in finding probable cause to indict the respondents.
Ramolete gave credence to Darama's extra-judicial confession and testimonies of other witnesses implicating Ogura to the murder.
But the prosecutor dismissed the case against Edna's husband, Yoshikazu Ogura, citing "there was no allegation to the effect that he either participated or got involved or connived with the other respondents in the perpetration and commission of the crime of murder."
The arrest warrant has yet to be served to Ogura, according to the victim's wife, Illuminada Iwasaki.
Ogura was detained at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group's regional office in Davao City on charges of illegal possession of firearms. An official at CIDG told Daily Manila Shimbun Ogura was able to post bail for the other case before the arrest warrant for murder came out.
"She was able to post bail immediately but our tracker teams are now looking for her," CIDG spokesperson Superintendent Elizabeth Jasmin said in a text message on Friday.
Ogura's last known address in Metro Manila is at Mayfield Park
Residences in Pasig City .
The Daily Manila Shimbun has yet to receive information if the warrant
was also served to Darama whose address is unknown.Emmanuel Tupas
