Off-duty cop responding to emergency call shot dead

A off-duty policeman who responded to a distress call was shot dead allegedly by a lone robber before dawn yesterday in Valenzuela City.

Chief Superintendent Jose Bandong, Northern Police District director, identified the fatality as PO3 Daniel Surban, assigned at the Valenzuela City police station and of Block 6, Lot 15, Villa Samantha Subdivision, Lawa, Meycauayan, Bulacan.

Initial investigation revealed that Surban's neighbor, identified as Carlito Arrogante, sought the policeman's help at around 1 a.m. yesterday, about an ongoing robbery at his house.

Surban, though, off-duty, immediately responded and accompanied Arrogante back to his house, Chief Inspector Danilo Abadiano, said.

Abadiano added that while Surban was scouring Arrogante's house for the alleged robbers, an unidentified man armed with a handgun suddenly appeared from the bathroom and shot the surprised policeman. Surban was hit in the left chest.

He was rushed to B. A. Hospital in Meycauayan, Bulacan but was pronounced dead on arrival, Abadiano said.

The gunman escaped and is now being hunted by the police.

Meanwhile, PO3 Loreto de la Cruz said that Arrogante was put under police custody pending investigation of the case.

"Investigation showed that Arrogante's allegations are doubtful," De la Cruz said. He explained that if a robbery was ongoing inside his (Arrogante) house, the robbers would see to it that nobody in the house could get out.

He added that when police probers arrived at Arrogante's house they found Surban sprawled on the floor bloodied with his 9mm service firearm lying beside him.

De la Cruz claimed that the police also found a bloodied T-shirt inside Arrogante's house.

He added that Arrogante was taken to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to undergo a lie detector test.

"Things are yet unclear but the investigation is still going on," De la Cruz said.