“Rob leader” shot by own SWAT brother has died

CEBU, Philippines - The man who traded shots with his policeman brother in Mandaue City Wednesday afternoon has succumbed to a gunshot wound to his face.

Teresito Reagan “Pati” Ligan, 30, died while confined at the Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu City hours after his brother, PO1 Teresito Jermaine Ligan of the Mandaue City Special Weapons and Tactics, shot him in the face.

Insp. Ariston Bataluna, Basak Police Station deputy chief, said Pati’s uncle called to inform that the man died around 2 a.m. yesterday.

PO1 Ligan, who got shot in the leg during the encounter with his older brother, is currently recuperating also at Chong Hua.  

The Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 has already said PO1 Ligan has no criminal liability in Pati’s death because it happened in the line of duty.

“It appears on our spot report that our responding policeman, who happened to be a brother of the suspect, responded to a crime call,” said Senior Supt. Edward Carranza, PRO 7 regional directorial staff chief.

He said that as procedure, an investigation is being conducted on the incident.

Carranza said they received initial reports that Pati was involved in criminal activities, which was corroborated by Mandaue City Police Office Deputy Chief for Operations Crisalio Tolentino, PO1 Ligan’s superior.

Tolentino described Pati as a “police character”, allegedly as leader of the Ligan robbery group, formerly the Jagobiao-Consolacion robbery group.

“Problema g’yud ni (He was really a problem of) PO1 Ligan ang iyang igsoon. Usahay mabaharan o mayaga-yagaan na siya sa iyang kaubanan na engkwentrohon ang iyang igsoon. Taas-taas na sad iyang pag-antos sa iyang maguwang. (Sometimes, colleagues mocked and challenged PO1 Ligan to face off with Pati. PO1 Ligan has suffered for long time because of his older brother)”. said Tolentino.

At 3:30 p.m. last Wednesday, PO1 Ligan was forced what no ordinary man could do, which is to take the life of a brother in response to the call of duty.

PO1 Ligan and PO1 Jerome Encallado were on a motorcycle conducting a preventive patrol when they received an alarm that somebody has indiscriminately fired a gun.

They proceeded to Sitio Kalubihan, Barangay Jagobiao, Mandaue City and learned that the suspect was Pati.

The jobless Pati was described as a known troublemaker in their place.

Neighbors told PO1 Ligan that his elder brother indiscriminately fired his unlicensed firearm after a heated argument with his wife.

The policeman confronted his sibling but was instead shot in the body. Ligan was not wounded, though, as he was wearing a bullet-proof vest.

He was forced to fire back at his brother, who traded shots with him instead of calming down, after he got shot in the left lower leg.

An ambulance brought Ligan to Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu City while a multicab rushed Pati to Eversley Hospital in Mandaue before he was transferred to Dr. Ignacio M. Cortes Hospital because of his critical condition.

Due to the seriousness of his wound, however, Pati was brought to Chong Hua at 5 p.m. He died nine hours later.

In a separate interview, Senior Insp. Genilo Veraque, Basak Police Station chief, said they recovered from the scene Pati’s unlicensed .38 caliber revolver that still has three bullets and three empty shells in its cylinder. 

The police also found Pati’s hunting knife, wallet, and cellular phone. PO1 Ligan also turned over his .45 caliber service firearm to responding policemen.

Bataluna said the encounter was a legitimate police operation, but it is up to Pati’s family if they would file a case against PO1 Ligan.

Bataluna, though, clarified that it was Pati who fired first, shooting his younger brother twice in the chest.  PO1 Ligan was lucky he was wearing a bullet-proof vest during the incident.

Bataluna said witnesses narrated that PO1 Ligan wanted to hit Pati in the leg.

Pati, he was told, knelt to take cover so the bullet hit him in the face. (FREEMAN)