Yorme warns barangays of coddling criminals
The mayor noted the wanton disregard for the law, for the life of the victim and even the presence of children in the area when the suspects shot the victim at close range
Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso told barangay executives not to coddle criminals and the city’s wanted persons by shutting their mouths or even not cooperating with lawmen when a crime is committed by someone close to them or if they are afraid of retaliation.
The mayor’s warning came after he learned that one of the suspects in the recent fatal shooting of a COVID-19 marshall of the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau was unprovoked and occurred in a residential area.
In this regard, he expressed his deepest condolences to the family of the slain traffic marshall, Ronald Malonzo, 39, a resident of Modesto Street in Malate.
In his regular live broadcast, he showed the faces and identities of the suspects, namely Benhar Mapagmahal; an alias “Arnel,” and one Musa Sangkity, alias “Johari.” He appealed for help from netizens to help the city locate them, offering a P100,000 reward for any information.
Domagoso showed the entire incident since it was caught by CCTV.
The incident happened on 18 September, at around 9:52 p.m. along Railroad Street corner 12th Street in Port Area, Manila.
The mayor noted the wanton disregard for the law, for the life of the victim and even the presence of children in the area when the suspects shot the victim at close range while he was merely sitting on a bench doing nothing.
“There was no argument, no fight. Nothing at all. He was treated merely as a nobody. And they were not even content shooting him. They even checked if he was still breathing before they casually left,” Domagoso said, as he described what transpired on the CCTV.
The suspects were seen getting out of an alley. The first shooter’s gun jammed and the second shooter backed him up and shot the victim himself. When the victim fell off the chair face up, the second shooter fired once more and then checked if the victim was dead before he casually walked back into the alley where he came from, gun in hand, along with the first shooter. The third suspect’s role was not clear.
The mayor lamented that none of the barangay officials who have jurisdiction in the area or the residents there bothered to inform the authorities about what happened. In fact, the suspects were even told to leave and escape before the authorities arrived.
Domagoso said he received information the suspects are related to certain barangay officials in the area, which was why they were that bold to commit the crime.
“You did not even help. You even told them to escape because the police were on their way. Nobody even reported it. The suspects came from an alley. The entire neighborhood, they didn’t care that something happened. The barangay officials there just allowed someone with 16 counts of murder to live among them like ordinary people. In an alley, out another, shoots someone, in again and go back to sleep. Now, you have no more space in Manila,” Domagoso said, commenting on the barangay officials and community where the shooting took place.
Meanwhile, the Manila Police District reported on Friday night that two persons surrendered after learning their pictures were shown on Moreno’s live broadcast.
They were identified as Melissa Asjali, 38, vendor, of 12th Street, Port Area, Manila, and Arnel Abas, 33, a native of Maguindanao, Mindanao.
They came forward to Rodolfo Trono, barangay ex officio officer, to clear their names as they denied involvement in the said shooting. They were taken to the Baseco Police Station for investigation.