Inside job in Holz slay?

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

 

THE brutal murder and robbery of a 62-year-old Australian last Tuesday may have been set up by a member of his household, the Police Regional Office (PRO-6) said.

 

Chief Supt. Isagani Cuevas, PRO-6 director, said they are eyeing “inside job” in the murder of Werner Holz, a former policeman believed to be from Melbourne, Australia.

 

“We are focusing on the possibility of an inside job in this case because the suspects were very familiar with the Holz residence. The suspects knew every nook and cranny of the house and which room to enter,” he said.

 

Cuevas said somebody from Holz’s household may have tipped off the suspects about the victim’s movements and on possible points of entry into the house.

 

“Based on our investigation, the suspects entered the house through the emergency exit in the bathroom of the master bedroom. Apparently, someone told the suspects about the emergency exit,” Cuevas said.

 

Cuevas said they are also investigating relatives of Holz’s wife, Vivian Posadas-Holz, who used to work for the family.

 

He said several persons related to his wife used to work for Holz “but they left because of some conflicts.”

 

“That might explain why the suspects wore masks because they are familiar to the victim,” the PRO-6 chief said.

 

Cuevas said investigators are also looking into Holz’s relationship with his wife and her relatives in Ajuy and business management.

 

“We have gathered information that the Holz couple are always arguing. Holz also regained control of their business from Vivian,” he said.

 

Cuevas said the hesitation of the house helps to respond to Vivian’s cry for help thinking the couple is fighting again proves that they were not in good terms.

 

Holz and his wife had been living in Ajuy for 10 years and were engaged in money-lending, pig farming and trading.

 

The Australian national reportedly transferred ownership of their businesses and properties to his youngest daughter from his first marriage.

 

“Everybody is a suspect here, including the family and household staff. We are looking into every personality and angle involved in this case,’ Cuevas said.

 

Aside from Vivian, the other companions of the victim inside the house at the time of the incident were their 7-year-old son Kevin; Elizabeth (Holz’s daughter from his first marriage); Kevin’s nanny and the house help.

 

To recall, three masked men forced their way into Holz’s bedroom Tuesday and stabbed him 24 times in the chest, back and neck.

 

They then forced Vivian Posadas-Holz to open a safe from which they took P1.2 million pesos in cash and jewelry.

 

Investigators are baffled with the immaculately clean crime scene which did not yield any latent fingerprint of the suspects.

 

A police officer in Task Force Werner who requested anonymity for lack of authority to speak on the case said the crime scene may have been swept clean before scene of the crime operatives arrived.

 

Or the suspects may have used hand gloves, the investigator added.

 

The Ajuy police headed by Senior Insp. Ariel Artillero also found it difficult to extract more information from Vivian.

 

Meanwhile, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in Canberra said it was providing consular assistance to the Holz family.

Tupas has P25-million worth of properties, owns 5 houses, 5 cars

 

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

 

ILOILO Governor Niel Tupas Sr. owns more than P25 million worth of properties, based on his latest statement of assets and liabilities net worth (SALN) submitted to the Human Resource Management and Development Office (HRMDO).

 

Tupas’ SALN for 2006 also shows that he is liquid having no liabilities or debts. His SALN for 2007 is unavailable.

 

The 2006 SALN show that he owns P22,000,080 worth of residential and agricultural properties.

 

The properties include five residential houses and lots in the town of Barotac Viejo; Las Palmas Subdivision in Jaro, Iloilo City; and Purdue, Quezon City in Metro Manila. His agricultural lands are located in Barotac Viejo.

 

In terms of personal and other properties, Tupas owns P1.14 million worth of furniture and fixtures while his jewelry amounted to P1.39 million.

 

The governor also owns five vehicles of various makes with a total value of P1.047 million.

 

Tupas reported in his SALN P300,000 worth of agricultural produce and improvements, his growing crops valued at P351,175.

 

The governor’s cash-on-hand in 2006 amounted to P447,316.

 

In sum, Tupas is worth P25,662,771.01 after accumulated depreciation amounting to P2,134,720.

 

As regards his sprawling residence in Hechanova, Jaro, records from the Iloilo City Assessor’s Office show that Tupas bought the property for P6.5 million via bank auction in 2005.

 

Ownership of the Hechanova property was transferred to Niel and Myrna Tupas December 19, 2008.

 

The property has a total land area of 1,894 square meters with an assessed value of P2,462,200. The house is valued at P3,935,550.

 

The HRMDO is set to release the governor’s 2007 SALN not later today.

 

Tupas nephew, Iloilo Vice Governor Rolex Suplico has urged the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to ask the Office of the Ombudsman to conduct a lifestyle check on the governor.

 

Suplico said he cannot recall any prominent person who paid Tupas a handsome fee for his legal services before the latter entered politics, debunking Tupas’ claims that the money he used to purchase the Hechanova property came from his legal fees.

 

The vice governor also scoffed at Tupas’ failure to answer the checks the former issued from 1998 to 2001. The checks represented the financial assistance Suplico extended to his uncle at P70,000 a month.

 

Suplico said Tupas cannot own multimillion properties on his P29,000 monthly salary.

 

But Tupas corrected the vice governor saying his salary is P34,939 a month aside from his representation and travel allowance amounting to some P10,000 monthly.