The National Bureau of Investigation is still facing a blank wall in its probe into the 2021 assassination of the Negros Occidental provincial consultant on hospital operations despite the increase in the reward to P2 million for any information that could lead to the arrest of his killers.
Mariano Antonio “Marton” Cui III was shot to death by a sniper as he was leaving his office at Emerald Arcade in Barangay Palampas, San Carlos City, on April 12, 2021.
The assassination appears to have been well funded and organized, Renoir Baldovino, National Bureau of Investigation- Bacolod head, said Tuesday, December 13.
However, because they have been unable to profile the suspects, the motive of the killing is still unknown, he said.
Their investigation was frustrated by their failure to obtain a cyber warrant from courts in San Carlos City and Bacolod City shortly after the crime was committed, he said.
He said if they had obtained the cellular phone of a suspected participant they would have been able to send it to the NBI laboratory in Manila to extract leads on Cui’s assassination.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson recently increased the reward for the capture of the killer or killers to P2 million.
Baldovino said a witness who steps forward could be placed under the witness protection program until the case is solved.*