Firearms used in Batocabe slay recovered in septic tank

AUTHORITIES have recovered one of the firearms allegedly used in the killing of AKO Bicol party-list Representative Rodel Batocabe.

Criminal Investigation and Detection GroupBicol Chief Arnold Ardiente said parts of a caliber .45 pistol such as slide, barrel, stabilizer, bushing, magazines and 34 live ammunition, as well as three fired cartridges were found in a septic tank in the house of Emmanuel Rosello in Barangay Sto. Niño in Pili, Camarines Sur.

Ardiente said the recovered parts of a firearm will be submitted to the Crime Laboratory in Camp Crame for examinat i on.

He said it will be part of the physical evidence on the charges filed against seven suspects in the killing.

Rosello is one of the six self-confessed suspects in the killing of Batocabe and the lawmaker's security aide, Senior Police Officer 2 Orlando Diaz, in Daraga, Albay on December 22.

The other suspects were Christopher Naval, Henry Yuson alias Romel, Rolando Arimado alias RR, Jaywin Babor alias Jie, and Daniel Muella alias Manoy Dan.

They all surrendered to the police and admitted taking part in the assassi n at i on .

Rosello and Babor both served as drivers of the get-away motorcycles; Yuson and Arimado served as the gunmen; Muella as a lookout; and Naval created the said hit-team.

All the suspects tagged Daraga Mayor Carlwyn Baldo as the mastermind in the killi ng.

Rosello said Arimado used the caliber .45 firearm and asked him to dispose it.

Another firearm, a caliber .40 used by Yuson in the killing, is still subject to search operations by the police.

Yuson earlier said he dismantled the said firearm and disposed it in the river. However, since Yuson’s caliber .40 is a registered firearm, the slugs recovered from the crime scene matched the police ballistic records. (THIRD ANNE PERALTA-MALONZO/ SunStar Philippi nes)