Raps filed vs 5 cops in Negros lawyer’s ambush

BACOLOD CITY – Five police officers face murder and frustrated murder charges in connection with the wounding of a lawyer and killing of her fiancée in an ambush in Negros Occidental last December.

Among those recommended for prosecution by the National Bureau of Investigation before the Talisay City prosecutor’s office were Senior Superintendent Francisco Ebreo, former Bacolod City police officer-in-charge; Superintendent Richie Yatar, Senior Inspector Adrian Albaytar, Senior Police Officer 2 Joshua Barile, PO3 Ronald Ortiz, Catherine Berioso-Cabuga, Shirley Berioso, Caselyn Berioso-Ortiz and Jose Max Ortiz.

Ebreo and Yatar have been relieved from the Bacolod police due to their alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade.

Erfe del Castillo suffered injuries in the arms and head after she was hit by glass shards while Efren Palmares Jr., a former police officer, died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Del Castillo said she was the target of the ambush, noting that the gunman fired at the passenger side, where she was seated.

In her sworn statement, Del Castillo claimed the ambush was work-related, and stemmed from a case that she had handled.

“My ambush is actually the culmination of the famous Metro Inn standoff... The people who are involved in the incident are the same people who conspired to kill me,” she said.

Del Castillo served as a counsel for Francis Rey Cabuga, a shareholder of the Metro Inn Hotel in this city, where a standoff, which resulted in a road closure, occurred last November following a quarrel with his wife.