CCTV RECORDS HITMEN’S FLIGHT
The police have identified two persons of interest who may have been involved in the fatal ambush of an anti-drug enforcer in Cebu City past 5 p.m. Friday.
Maria Theresa Macatangay, chief of the Abellana Police Station in Cebu City, yesterday said they have obtained a closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage that showed two men riding on a black motorcycle speeding off toward Barangay Kalunasan right after the shooting of Baby Earl Rallos, assistant operations chief of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 7, on Villalon Drive in Barangay Capitol Site.
Macatangay said these persons, who wore full-face helmets and jackets, could be the as- sailants. One witness positively identified the back rider as the gunman. These new details were discussed in the case conference yesterday.
Investigators got the CCTV video from a house near the road. Macatangay said they still have to assess the case before forming a special investigation task group.
CONDEMNATION
Meanwhile, PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino condemned Rallos’s murder in a press statement. The national and regional offices of PDEA have placed the flags at half-mast as an “expression of sorrow.”
“I am deeply saddened by the loss of one of our agents. The odds of being injured, wounded, or worst killed, continue to stacked against us. Sometimes we are unsuspecting preys to our unseen enemies,” Aquino said, adding that PDEA is not discounting the possibility that the ambush was work-related.
Rallos was a member of Drug Enforcement Officers’ Basic Course (DEOBC) Class 2007-02, “Mapalad” of the PDEA Academy.
“Rallos’s death reflects the actual and real risks that drug law enforcers face, while they are on-duty and even when off-duty. PDEA condemn this dastardly act and vow that it will not dampen its resolve to intensify further the government’s fight against the menace of illegal drugs,” Aquino said.
For his part, Police Regional Office 7 information officer Supt. Reyman Tolentin said the assailants are brazen in their act because they are possibly from other provinces.
“The long arm of the law will catch them in due time,” he said. “The crime is not prevented. Our next job is to solve it, to investigate.”
DRUGS, GUNS, MONEY
The Scene of the Crime Operation (Soco) team recovered three packs (in large, medium and small sizes) believed to contain shabu from the glove compartment of Rallos’s Toyota Altis.
PDEA’s press release did not mention the recovery of the contraband.
Tolentin said law enforcers are not allowed to carry contraband with them.
“It doesn’t give you the license to bring drugs if you are a PDEA agent, Tolentin said. He likened it to police work wherein police do not carry drugs with them just because they go after those peddling drugs.
“It will create a negative impression,” he said.
Police also found M4 carbine in the baggage compartment, .9mm pistol placed near the hand brake and a .45 pistol. More than P20,000 in cash and four US $100 placed inside a white envelope were also recovered inside the vehicle.
A Rallos family member, who asked not to be named, said 15 empty shells were found in the crime scene, and that Earl bore nine gunshot wounds, including four in the head.
A slug stuck in the mouth of the anti-drug enforcer was found during autopsy.
Rallos, a former broadcast journalist, was on his way home to have dinner with his family. The PDEA official had just been promoted to a rank below a director and the news excited his family.
Rallos did not divulge any threats on his life, according to another family member.
PDEA 7 information officer Leia Albiar said they are still gathering official reports from the police and seeking guidance from the national office before issuing an official statement on the incident.
The motorcycle-for-hire driver hit in the left cheek by a stray bullet was declared safe. Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak promised to help in the man’s hospital expenses.
HEARD NOT SEEN
Macatangay said the driver did not see the faces of the culprits and he only heard a volley of gunshots.
Other witnesses said the culprits were on board their motorcycle and about to flee after shooting Rallos’s vehicle.
After the initial shots, Rallos crawled out of his car through the passenger seat. The gunman, who saw him still alive, told his driver to stop the motorcycle. He approached Rallos and shot him using the agent’s .9mm pistol.
Macatangay said the motive of Rallos’s murder may have to do with his work as a PDEA operative and illegal drug trade.