Cops, b’gay watchmen face homicide raps

Four policemen and two barangay watchmen involved in the mistaken shooting incident in Mandaluyong City that left two people dead and two others wounded tested positive for gunpowder burns, police said yesterday.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Oscar Albayalde directed Chief Supt. Reynaldo Biay, director of the Eastern Police District (EPD) to file homicide and frustrated homicide charges against Police Officer 2 Nel Songalia and PO1s Kim Tinbusat, Bryan Nicolas and Julius Livuen as well as barangay watchmen Wilmer Duron and Ernesto Fajardo, for the killing of Jonalyn Ambaon and Jomar Hayawon.

The six respondents will also face charges for wounding Eliseo Aluad and Danilo Santiago during last Thursday’s incident.

Ambaon was shot in the head at a construction site

in Barangay Addition Hills earlier. She died in the hospital while Hayawon died at the scene.

Responding policemen and barangay watchmen mistook the utility van being driven by Santiago that was carrying Ambaon as a getaway vehicle.

Ambaon was shot in the head by a group led by a certain Abdurakman Alfin while she was trying to mediate a quarrel at a construction site in Addition Hills at about 10:20 p.m. Thursday.

The shooting of Ambaon stemmed from a quarrel over a parking space.

Albayalde said those involved who tested negative for powder burns means they are cleared of the case.

“We are still waiting for the results of the ballistic tests of their firearms. Once it was found that they fired their firearms, the charge sheet would be amended to include them,” he said.

The EPD’s scene of the crime operatives (SOCO) conducted the paraffin tests on the 10 policemen and two tanods in the presence of Albayalde and Biay on Friday, several hours after the incident.

The 10 policemen surren- dered their firearms and were immediately subjected by the SOCO to a ballistic examination.

The SOCO has yet to release the findings of its ballistic tests.

The 10 policemen have been reassigned to the NCRPOs Regional Police Holding and Administrative Unit with Senior Supt. Florendo Quibuyen, EPD’s deputy for operations and concurrent head of Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) that summoned them for the filing of charges.

“We will file the charges as soon as the four policemen arrive in my office,” Quibuyen said.

He added Duron and Fajardo are under the restrictive custody of the Mandaluyong police.

Initial investigation by the SITG showed Senior Insp. Cristina Vasquez, head of the Police Community Precinct in Barangay Addition Hills, and another policeman did not fire their guns during the incident, Quibuyen said.

Charges to be filed

Vasquez, however, would be included in the charges, Quibuyen said.

Quibuyen said charges of double homicide and reckless imprudence would be filed before the Mandaluyong City Prosecutor’s Office against those involved.

Aside from Vasquez, those who would be charged included Songalia, Livuen, Nicolas, Tibunsay and PO1s Ariel Uribe, Jave Arellano, Tito Danao, Mark Castillo and Albert Buwag.

The tanods include Fajardo, Duron and Gilbert Gulpo, all of Addition Hills.

Fajardo and Duron are under police custody, while Gulpo has expressed willingness to surrender based on a text message he sent to barangay chairman Kent Faminial.

Earlier, Fajardo said it was Duron and Gulpo who joined the police chase of the white Mitsubishi Adventure driven by Santiago who tried to bring Ambaon to hospital.

Fajardo said they just arrived at the scene where Ambaon was already bleeding from a gunshot in the head when residents told them that the suspects escaped on board a white Mitsubishi van.

Duron denied being armed at the time while Fajardo expressed surprise how he tested positive for gunpowder burns.

Duron surrendered before the local police while Gulpo remains at large and is now being hunted.

Ambaon, along with construction worker Murey Hamon and Jemar Altin and Romeo Resureccion also tested positive for gunpowder burns, according to Quibuyen.

Quibuyen surmised that Ambaon and the three others scuffled for the possession of a firearm and it went off, hitting the victim in the head.

The SITG is still determining the possible charges to be filed against Hamon, Altin and Resureccion.

Mayor Menchie Abalos shouldered the burial expenses of Ambaon and Hayawon as well as the medical expenses of Aluad and Domingo.

Abalos issued a memorandum to the 27 barangay chiefs in the city prohibiting tanods from carrying firearms.