Anson Que’s son still among respondents in kidnap-slay case

A P10 million reward awaits those who will step forward and provide credible information to police leading to the arrest of Wenli Gong alias Kelly Tan Lim, one of the alleged masterminds in the killing of Chinese-Filipino businessman Anson Que and his driver Armanie Pabillo last April 8.

Government lawyers expect the indictment against suspects in the kidnapping and killing of steel magnate Anson Que and his driver Armanie Pabillo to come out in one to two weeks, Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon said on Thursday.

Fadullon said Que’s son, Alvin, is still listed as one of the respondents because prosecutors have not ruled on the motion of the Philippine National Police to exclude him from the charge sheet.

“[Alvin] is still included because the motion to amend [the complaint] hasn’t been formally acted upon yet,” Fadullon said.

“Once that is resolved, then that’s the time that we’ll be able to find out whether he should be included or excluded … what I’m saying is that it will not be resolved separately, it will be resolved together with the resolution that will be issued by the prosecutors,” he explained.

Shorter timeline

He also noted that the preliminary investigation will proceed on a shorter timeline, as the case began as an inquest and only transitioned into further investigation after the respondents signed a waiver.

“So it only has about 15 days within which it has to be resolved,” Fadullon said.

The bodies of Anson Que, whose legal name is Anson Tan, and Pabillo were discovered on April 9 in Rodriguez, Rizal, after they went missing on March 29.

In an April 19 referral letter, the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group recommended charges of kidnapping for ransom with homicide against three main suspects: Richardo Austria David (also known as Richard Tan Garcia), Reymart Catequista, and David Tan Liao.

The police also sought to include Que’s son and four others in the preliminary investigation, supposedly based on the extrajudicial confession of Liao, whom the PNP previously identified as the leader of the gang behind the kidnapping and murder.

However, the PNP later filed a motion to amend the complaint and requested Alvin’s removal from the list of respondents because “no other evidence can be adduced against [him].”

One of Alvin’s lawyers, Pearlito Campanilla, said on Thursday that they would only file a counter-affidavit if the prosecution denies the PNP’s motion to drop his name from the case.

P10-million bounty

Earlier this week, the PNP said the reward money for any information leading to the arrest of one of the suspects in the case has been raised to P10 million.

Wenli Gong, also known as Kelly Tan Lim, was allegedly used by Liao to lure Que to the place where he was held and killed. She also facilitated the transfer of the ransom money paid by the businessman’s family to those holding him, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo told reporters.