No kill order vs narco mayors as cops probe ambush
There is no shoot-to-kill order against any of the narcolist mayors, a ranking police official said yesterday as authorities are grappling with the fatal ambush of a Misamis Occidental mayor while in police custody in Cebu City on Friday.
Police regional director Brig. Gen. Valeriano de Leon said they are looking at all possible motives for the killing of Clarin town mayor David Navarro, who was reportedly on President Duterte’s narcolist.
“There are possibilities. Even if he is included in the narcolist, do they have orders to shoot to kill? None,” De Leon said.
“Motive? As of now, we are looking at all angles – work, personal, grudge, affiliations. We will also look into his involvement in drugs,” he added.
Navarro, who was arrested on other charges, was inside a police van and being transported for inquest proceedings when the vehicle was ambushed.
A white van allegedly blocked the police vehicle, and 10 heavily armed men jumped out and surrounded the police van.
Two of the assailants dragged Navarro from the van and shot him multiple times.
There were a total of nine people, including the victim’s sisters and policemen, inside the car. A police escort was hit in the foot.
De Leon said it is likely that the assailants were hired killers but added they are still checking witnesses and surveillance footage to see “how precise the movements” were.
De Leon said they have yet to finish the investigation and he could not make any conclusion on whether the police escorts committed lapses in protecting Navarro.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has initiated an investigation on the killing of Navarro.
CHR commissioner Gwendolyn Pimentel-Gana condemned the ambush, pointing out Navarro was killed even while facing charges of physical injuries.
“The commission does not condone the assault charges filed against Mayor Navarro from allegedly beating a massage therapist in Cebu City but this incident does not in any way justify his death,” Gana said.
Gana said the CHR will also look into the angle of drug-related killing as Navarro was identified as among the narco-politicians by the President.
“Such arbitrary deprivation of life without due process of the law must never be tolerated,” she added.
Navarro was arrested on Thursday for beating up a massage therapist and supposedly asking for sexual favors from another at a hotel in Cebu City. Navarro was facing charges of acts of lasciviousness, physical injuries and usurpation of authority, as he allegedly identified himself as a policeman.
He was arrested by police on Thursday at the airport 30 minutes before his scheduled flight back to his province after the masseur he allegedly attacked filed a complaint with authorities.