3 motives eyed in trader’s murder try

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Police Office assured the family of the businessman who was ambushed Monday morning that justice will be served as the police claimed to have already identified possible angles and probable persons of interest in the killing attempt.

Jonathan Emmanuel Go, 38, and his daughter Joan Emmanuelle, 7, were injured when two unidentified men shot them outside their residence along Happy Valley Road, Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City.

CCPO director Senior Superintendent Noli Romana, who visited the victims in the hospital yesterday morning, said both are already out of danger.

The father, however, remains at the intensive care unit. He was shot on the left side of his body.

Joan, on the other hand, is still confined at the hospital and is already able to watch cartoons despite her gunshot wound on her right arm.

 “Joan is recuperating very fast. I told her I am praying for her and will meet her again. Okay siya pero masakit tingnan. May tinanggal na bala in her right arm na naka-fracture sa bone niya,” Romana said.

Romana said a case conference was held Monday night on the incident.               

After the profiling the police have conducted on the victim, there were at least three to four motives identified. These included personal grudges against the victim, work-related, and business-related.

Go is engaged in buying-and-selling automobile spare parts. He previously worked in his cousin’s business, AJL Surplus, a distributor of secondhand vehicles.

Romana said that he apologized to Jonathan’s wife, Hazel, for not being able to prevent the incident from happening.

He also asked Hazel about any recent happenings that may lead to the ambush but was told there was nothing unusual from the side of the victim in the past few days.

The police have also backtracked any encounter of the victim for the past few months but it turned out to be negative. Romana said the reason behind the killing attempt could be attributed to a problem that started last year.

“Sabi ng wife niya, it was just recently na happy na sila since they have mended whatever their differences are. For the past weeks, hindi disturbed or uneasy si Jonathan. So probably, ang problem nangyari pa noon. Akala niya siguro wala na yung problem. Doon kami magpa-prioritize,” he said.

Romana said Jonathan reported to the police about a death threat he has received last year. However, he cannot further divulge additional information on the police report for security reasons. He said he has to personally talk to Jonathan when he is able to speak.

He said the testimony of the witness, Felix Bejec, has helped them identify one of the two gunmen.

“Naka-provide siya ng description. May sketch na kami nun,” he said, adding that they will still interview the witness for the facial composite of the suspects.

Bejec, who works as a helper of Jonathan, allegedly saw a man wearing ball cap, black shirt, and long jeans standing near the gate of the victim’s house. Another man also wearing ball cap, white shirt, and long pants was seen walking back and forth in front of the gate before the victims’ car went out.

Bejec reportedly saw one of the two unidentified men fired at the driver’s side of the vehicle while the other man also fired at the passenger’s side. Both gunmen, he said, fled towards a waiting motorcycle located about 50 meters away from the crime scene. He said that the driver of the motorcycle was wearing a helmet.

Romana said CCTV footage from one of the houses in the compound captured the incident but the video could not be viewed clearly when zoomed in.

Based on the footage, the gunmen did not appear to be professionals since they were flinching and panicking while shooting the target at the same time. Romana said the gunmen could have been first-timers.

“Tapos nang tumakbo, lumilingon pa sila sa likod, They are not the usual type of the professional gunmen who just casually walk away towards the pick-up point. Tapos dangerous pa ang positioning pa nila dahil baka mag-cross fire,” Romana said.

Chief Insp. Romeo Santander, head of the City Intelligence Branch, said a nightly case conference will be conducted to resolve the case immediately.

The incident has prompted Romana to consider moving the Monday morning schedule of flag ceremony to ensure enough police presence on the street every Monday morning.

The flag ceremony is usually held at 7 a.m. every Monday which Romana considered a weak point in the maintenance of the peace and order.

“The incident happened around seven a.m. (7 AM) sa Monday. It’s a busy time,” he said.

He plans to move the flag ceremony to either 6 a.m. every Monday or on a Sunday.— (FREEMAN)