POLICE TASK FORCE FORMED

BASISTA — A scam at a sub-office of the Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative (Cenpelco) is being looked into as the possible motive behind the gun slaying of one of the coop’s top officials on Wednesday night.

This was unearthed by probers who went to the Cenpelco main office in San Carlos City and talked with other executives and employees of the coop a day after the slaying of Sandra Frias, manager of the Member Service Department and spokesperson of Cenpelco, one of the biggest cooperatives in the country.

Being looked into by probers is an irregularity at the Cenpelco sub-office in Bayambang, which was investigated by Frias.

A report said the scam involved P11 million which was reported missing that subsequently led to the dismissal from the service of six employees of the sub-office.

       This developed as Sr. Superintendent Isagani Nerez, police provincial director, formed Task Force Cenpelco to investigate the murder of the victim who was shot dead aboard her car, an Isuzu Highlander colored white.

The shooting happened along the highway at Barangay Dumpay 1 in Basista while Frias was going home to Zamora Street in Basista from the Cenpelco main office in San Carlos City where she worked overtime.

Frias, single, sustained three gunshot wounds, one on the left shoulder that pierced through her armpit, on the neck and on her left thigh.

The left glass window of her car was shattered with one of the bullets hitting the left window.

Senior Inspector Ramon Diaz, Basista chief of police, said that when they responded, Frias’ car was already moved to a rice field beside the highway.

Diaz said it was Mayor Raul de Guzman, a relative of Frias, who alerted him about the shooting incident in Barangay Dumpay 1, Basista.

The slaying came at a time when Cenpelco was on a massive restoration and rehabilitation work after a wholesale devastation wrought by Typhoon Cosme.

But it is a very remote possibility that Frias may have been killed by among the angry member consumers of Cenpelco who have not received electricity yet.

Robbery has also been ruled out as motive as Frias’ valuables as well as the grocery items she bought were intact.

Frias, a law graduate, was to have celebrated her 47th birthday last Friday.—LM

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