Cops in mistaken identity shooting post bail
The police officers implicated in a mistaken shooting in Mandaluyong City posted bail on Friday.
The lawmen who posted bail for cases of two counts of homicide and two counts of frustrated homicide are Police Officer 2 Lawemuel Songalia; Police Officers 1 Ariel Uribe, Jave Arellano, Tito Danao, Mark Castillo, Julius Libuen, Bryan Nicolas, Albert Buwag and Kim Rufford Tibunsay.
Senior Superintendent Florendo Quibuyen, deputy director for operations of the Eastern Police District (EPD), said the policemen paid a surety bond.
“The cash bond is much higher,” Quibuyen said yesterday in a text message.
Another police official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the policemen each paid a surety bond of around P30,000, covering two counts of homicide and two counts of frustrated homicide.
“They paid P8,000 for each count of homicide and P7,000 for each count of frustrated homicide,” the police official said in a phone interview.
The police officers were turned over to the National Capital Region Police Office Friday night. They will remain on floating status and under restrictive custody at the NCRPO’s Regional Headquarters Support Group as they are facing an investigation for possible administrative sanctions.
Their team leader, Senior Inspector Maria Cristina Vasquez, remains under restrictive custody at the Mandaluyong police headquarters as her case is still under preliminary investigation.
The two Barangay Addition Hills watchmen included in the charge sheet, Wilmer Duron and Gilbert Gulpo, also posted bail but it is unclear if their bail was through a surety bond.
The Mandaluyong regional trial court set bail at P40,000 for each count of homicide and P24,000 for each count of frustrated homicide.
Quibuyen could not say if the bail bond of the policemen came from their own pockets or the Philippine National Police (PNP).
PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa earlier said they are raising funds to bail out the police officers who were involved in the shooting that led to the deaths of two people and left two others wounded.
According to Dela Rosa, it is their “moral responsibility” to provide assistance to the police officers who just reacted to a report that there were armed men inside a white van.