PDEA agent’s family seeks NBI assistance
The family of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-7 senior agent Von Rian Tecson yesterday sought National Bureau of Investigation-7’s help in hopes of expediting investigation into his fatal ambush on Wednesday in Carcar City.
As this developed, police are in the process of forming a special investigation task group to look into Tecson's killing, which came 13 days after a colleague, PDEA-7 senior officer Baby “Earl” Rallos, suffered the same fate in the hands of unknown gunmen just a few meters away from the Cebu Provincial Capitol compound in Cebu City.
Tecson's parents, Luzviminda and Benedicto Tecson, told reporters yesterday that they strongly believe their son's death could be related to his work.
“Akong huna-huna related gyud sa iyang job, trabaho gyud niya. Dugay na nakong gidawat nga ma ing-ana gyud siya kay tungod sa iyang trabaho. Mura ba'g gidawat nako ba nga iyang trabaho pait,” Luzviminda said, closing her eyes in anguish in between statements.
“Buotan man na akong anak,” she continued. “Di lang na siya sige'g tabi, murag secretive ba. Pero buotan na akong anak.”
Luzviminda said her son did not tell them he received death threats, only his brother, SPO1 Von Tecson, who never relayed the information to them.
Tecson's parents, who came over to the NBI-7 office in Cebu City from their house in Barangay Napu, Carcar City, said they were satisfied with their talks with NBI-7 Director Patricio Bernales Jr.
Bernales, in turn, assured them that the agency will help conduct a deeper investigation.
Reporters asked the NBI-7 chief about the specific actions his office will make now that the family has approached them, but his response was, “No comment.”
The Tecsons also visited Governor Hilario Davide III's office later in the afternoon yesterday to likewise seek help.
‘NO LINKS’
Meanwhile, Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) has found no direct links, so far, between the deaths of Rallos and Tecson.
“Wala pang nakikita. Hindi pa namin maconnect ang kaso nina Rallos and Tecson,” Senior Superintendent Manuel Abrugena, director of CPPO, said at a press conference yesterday.
He pointed out that the two were separate incidents, and were only linked through the nature of their jobs. Tecson and Rallos were also classmates in the PDEA Academy Class of 2007.
PDEA-7 Director Wardley Getalla, in a separate interview, said he will provide the necessary documents pertaining to the cases that Tecson handled.
“May mga list ng hinahawakan niya that we have collated and refer to investigation. They are set to find out if there will be links, titingnan ang archives if nandun ba ang possible suspects,” said Getalla.
Initial investigation showed that Tecson's driver, Arnulfo Buayaban, 52, saw Tecson fire back at his assailant but he later succumbed to gunshot wounds to the head and different parts of his body.
Abrugena said witnesses told investigators one of the assailants got wounded and was allegedly rescued by his fellowassailants on board a maroon Pajero.
The FREEMAN checked with the nearest hospital from Carcar City, which was in the City of Naga, roughly 18.7 kilometers away, but emergency personnel there could not confirm if there was a person with a gunshot wound brought into the facility.
Abrugena said he has ordered the police chief of Naga to check reports of persons with gunshot wounds, as well as the reported vehicle.
He was also skeptic about the plate of the supposed get-away Pajero (GVH 753) given by Buayaban, saying it might be fake.
WOUNDED ASSAILANT
Another challenge, said Abrugena, is the difficulty in accessing hospital records.
“Secure footages along the road and reported hospital nag-admit. May security protocols ang hospitals. We had these experiences in previous investigations kaming pulis hindi ma-entertain because of confidentiality,” he said.
Under Executive Order No. 212, medical facilities are required to report to police any case which may involve physical injuries inflicted with use of gun.
Section 1 of the order states: “The attending physician of any hospital, medical clinic, sanitarium or other medical establishments, or any other medical practitioner, who has treated any person for serious or less serious physical injuries as these injuries are defined in Articles 262, 263, 264 and 265 of the Revised Penal Code, shall report the fact of such treatment promptly to the nearest government health authority.”
Those who fail to report persons with gunshot wounds may end up having their license to practice revoked.
Abrugena also said they were still trying to confirm if Tecson was indeed able to retaliate since Scene of the Crime Operations did not find any guns he owned at the crime scene.
If the witnesses or bystanders had taken his gun, then he said the crime scene may have already been tampered with.
In a SOCO report from Carcar City police, only personal belongings, including documents and wallets, were found inside Tecson's vehicle.
Operatives recovered 24 empty shells from a .45 caliber pistol and an M16, 22 shells from.45 pistol, and two from an M16.
TASK GROUP
Abrugena said they are in the process of requesting to form a special investigation task group from the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas to focus on solving Tecson's case.
So far, he said, investigation is leading to checking the identity of an alleged drug lord that Tecson may have operated on.
“Ang pinag-aaralan natin is yung initial announcement ng kapatid, who happens to be a police investigator in Carcar. Sinabi niya na nakatanggap ang kapatid, coming from an unidentified drug lord, na na-operate ni Agent Tecson, ina-identify po namin who is that drug lord,” he said.
“May mga sinundan tayo na information sa ating investigation right now, based sa leads, may developments kami na nakikita, kaso we are observing the protocols in the conduct of investigation. The leads will help us in identifying the perpetrators,” he added.
Carcar City Mayor Nicepuro Apura, for his part, urged witnesses to come out and help in the investigation.
He said the City Hall has a copy of CCTV footages which captured the SUV used as a “getaway” vehicle, courtesy of a camera installed outside a public school in Barangay Perrelos. However, no CCTV cameras were installed at the exact spot where the exchange of gunshots happened.