Gingoyon suspects tied to another slay

As murder charges are filed against suspects in the murder of Pasay Judge Henrick Gingoyon, authorities are also digging deeper into their criminal records as one of the alleged killers was also involved in robbery and other offenses in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

One of the suspects, Rodolfo Cuer Jr., was also involved in the Dongalo massacre in Parañaque City last Dec. 12 and tagged as the gunman in the murder of Japanese businessman Tsutomu Uehara in Las Piñas City last Nov. 3.

"Cuer was positively tagged by our witness so we filed murder charges against him for the killing of Tsutomu (Uehara)," Southern Police District (SPD) director Chief Superintendent Wilfredo Garcia said.

Garcia added they are digging deeper into Cuer’s criminal activities on the possibility of linking the other suspects in the Gingoyon assassination in Bacoor, Cavite last Dec. 31.

The Las Piñas police filed murder charges against Cuer for the killing of Uehara before the city prosecutors’ office yesterday.

"This bolsters our initial theory that the suspects who killed Judge Gingoyon are members of a notorious gun-for-hire syndicate," Cavite provincial director Senior Superintendent Benjardi Mantele said.

Police said Cuer was identified by a maid of Uehara as the man who allegedly shot the 45-year-old Japanese businessman as he and his Filipino wife were about to enter their home in Casimiro Homes subdivision in Las Piñas.

Uehara had lived in the Philippines for five years and the couple had two daughters. He ran a restaurant with a Japanese partner near his home, his wife said.

The Uehara family immediately contacted Task Force Gingoyon after seeing an artist sketch of Cuer on national television.

Las Piñas Police chief Superintendent Josephus Angan said they even brought the witnesses to Cavite and who positively identified Cuer as the suspect in the killing of the Japanese businessman.

Chief Superintendent Ernesto Belen, director of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Crime Laboratory at Camp Crame in Quezon City, said several 9-mm. shells that were recovered at Uehara’s residence at the Casimiro Homes in Las Piñas were identical to those recovered in the Dongalo massacre as well as earlier robbery and rape incidents in Rizal.

Among the victims in the massacre were Arvin Factor, Allen Factor, John Besmark Chan and Sherwin Franco.

Belen said police were able to positively cross-match the empty shells recovered from the Uehara crime scene with those found at the Dongalo massacre.

The same gun was also reportedly used in the twin shooting incidents in Angono last Dec. 1, the robbery incident in Binangonan, also last Dec. 1, and the robbery with multiple rape and frustrated homicide in Cainta last Nov. 24.

Police also recovered the same type of bullet shells from the scene of a shooting in Makati City last Nov. 24, as well as from another shooting in Mandaluyong City last Nov. 16.

Belen said the suspects in the seven incidents used three 9-mm. pistols, one of them an Austrian-made Glock.

"But unlike in other robbery cases, the suspects were not after the money because they only took small amounts or unimportant items like cheap sunglasses from their victims," said Belen.

He said the suspects used a Mazda 323 in carrying out their "thrill" crimes.

"They are not hesitant to shoot their victims for no apparent reason," he said.

According to Garcia, they will present Cuer before their witnesses in the Dongalo massacre to make a positive identification.

"We will schedule a police lineup for our witnesses to identify Cuer so other cases in our jurisdiction would be solved," Garcia said.

For his part, Belen said he would request the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to allow them to examine evidence gathered in the Gingoyon murder to compare with their findings.

Initial reports, however, said the gunmen had used a .45-caliber semi-automatic in the killing of Gingoyon.

The NBI said Cuer faces a series of pending charges, not only in Metro Manila, but also in nearby provinces.

Cuer was linked to the robbery of a cake factory in Caloocan City, the robbery of an off-track betting station in Bulacan and a grocery store, among others, with a total amount of P500,000 stolen.

Confession

The NBI, for its part, will utilize the "extrajudicial confession" made by one of the suspects in the killing of Gingoyon.

NBI Officer-in-Charge Nestor Mantaring said Rudy Baclor, one of the suspects charged with the murder of Gingoyon, had confessed to acting as the "lookout" for the group and revealed who among the suspects actually participated in the killing of the Pasay judge and contributed to the commission of the crime.

In his statement, Baclor claimed there had been three meetings to finalize their plans to kill Gingoyon.

Aside from Cuer and Baclor, among those charged with the murder were Sahid Sulaiman, Mark Datas, Efren Samonte and Filemon Ravino.

Mantaring said Cuer was the triggerman, Sulaiman acted as the "mediator," Datas was the getaway driver and Baclor was the lookout.

Samonte provided the firearms while Ravino secured the safehouse for the group.

With the exception of Baclor, the five other suspects signed waivers against arbitrary detention pending the preliminary investigation of the case. They were given seven days to file counter-affidavits before prosecutors, Mantaring said.

Mantaring explained the waiver allowed the suspects to be detained further while waiting for the resolution from prosecutors on whether there was enough evidence to warrant the filing of a criminal case.

NBI National Capital Region Director Ruel Lasala said the signing of the waivers would enable the suspects the opportunity to submit their counter-affidavits.

This would also enable the Task Force Gingoyon to gather more evidence and strengthen the murder case filed against the suspects along with the mastermind, he said.

"It would then be up to the fiscal (prosecutor) to issue a resolution and determine if there is basis for charging them or not... Since they were arrested during a ‘hot pursuit’ operation, they were not given the chance to prepare for their defense," Lasala said.

The suspects were supposed to receive P150,000 for the job. They received an initial payment of P50,000 and were about to receive the remaining balance of P100,000 last Tuesday, the same day that Task Force Gingoyon apprehended them.

The suspects reportedly conducted surveillance of the judge and his residence to establish his daily travel habits before carrying out the assassination.

Labao said Baclor was included in the charge sheet since he might be used as a state witness by the government as the least guilty among the group.

Cuer had denied being the gunman, but apart from Baclor’s testimony, there are witnesses who positively identified him.

Unmasking the principal

Malacañang praised authorities for the arrest of suspects in the Gingoyon murder but reminded the mastermind in the New Year’s Eve assassination of the Pasay judge has yet to be identified.

Mantaring, however, declined to identify the mastermind stressing the NBI investigation of the case has yet to be concluded.

Mantaring lauded the efforts made of the NBI and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in arresting and charging the suspects.

"This is a very good example of good coordination between the NBI and the PNP that led to the immediate solution of the case. I hope and believe this good coordination continues," Mantaring said.

Southern Tagalog police director Chief Superintendent Jesus Versoza, chief of Task Force Gingoyon, meanwhile, declared they were now close to catching the alleged mastermind.

"The suspects told us they overheard the name of the person, who hired them to kill Judge Gingoyon," Versoza said.

Versoza said the breakthrough in the murder case came after Cuer confessed and identified his cohorts leading to their swift arrest.

Investigators noted Baclor gave sufficient information to strengthen the case and could become a state witness.

Versoza said they have yet to establish any link to Superintendent Manuel Barcena in the killing, although Barcena might have known the suspects after serving as chief of police of Bacoor several years ago.

Barcena has denied any involvement in the killing and presented himself for investigation.

PNP chief Director General Arturo Lomibao said the filing of the charges against the suspects and the possible identification of the mastermind has "partially solved" the Gingoyon murder case.

"We consider this partially solved with the arrest and filing of charges against the six suspects. But the mastermind and the motive behind the killing have yet to be known," Lomibao stressed. — With Evelyn Macairan, Cecille Suerte Felipe, AP