More cops to testify on Ozamiz gang rubout

MANILA, Philippines - More police officers are set to come out and support their colleague who testified that gangmen Ricky Cadavero and Wilfredo Panogalinga of the Ozamiz robbery group were murdered last July 15 on orders of their superior, Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas said yesterday.

He said the other policemen are just trying to get their own lawyers to make sure that their rights will be protected and they would not incriminate themselves.

“There are other policemen who intend to testify. They are just trying to get their own independent lawyers to protect their own rights. They need lawyers to protect their innocence or their least participation in the incident,” Roxas said.

Two senior police officers, Senior Inspector Manuel Magat and Inspector Efren Oco, both of the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) Regional Special Operations Group, were charged with murder for the deaths of Cadavero and Panogalinga.

Other members of the Calabarzon RSOG in the operation were charged with perjury for apparently conniving with other police officers in covering up the executions.

They are Senior Police Officers 1 Jayson Semacas, Joseph Ortega and Genero de Gala; Police Officers 3 Sherwin Bulan, Ramil Gonzales, Marvin Mejia and Eduardo Cruz; Police Officers 2 Conrado Bautista Jr., Exiel Reyes and Kristofferson Reyes; and Police Officer 1 Ryan Rey Gado, all of the Regional Public Safety Battalion.

The policemen submitted to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) the same affidavits they gave to the Philippine National Police.

The police officer who testified that there was a rubout said that the escorts of Cadavero and Panogalinga tried to make it appear that two motorcycle-riding gunmen attacked the police convoy transporting the gangmen.

The escorts have claimed that the gangmen died in a shootout in San Pedro, Laguna.

Roxas noted that the fact-finding investigation headed by Director Catalino Cuy on the death of the gangmen is still investigating whether there was a conspiracy to commit murder.

“They are still investigating whether there is conspiracy, where the act of one is the act of all. We are still checking if they were part of the plans to kill the gang leaders or they were just brought there,” Roxas said.

Based on Cuy’s report, Roxas said the killing was planned, from the time the gangmen were suddenly taken to an ordinary vehicle and driven to Cavite reportedly for inquest proceedings.

Cuy also pointed out the route taken by the convoy, which was apparently out of way and the directive to the policeman-turned-witness to shoot the van’s windshield to make it appear that there was an ambush.

The escorts were also ordered to change the firing pins and the barrels of their guns to make it difficult to determine who shot the fatalities.

Roxas noted that the bullet holes on the windshield of the van contradicted the earlier claim of policemen that they were strafed by still unidentified gunmen on board a motorcycle.

“We have our own witness, who admitted that he shot the windshield to make it appear there was an ambush. Imagine, they claimed there was an ambush but there were grouping of bullet holes, meaning the vehicle was not moving during the shooting,” he added.

“It’s just common sense. When you’re going to make up a story, you better do it well,” Roxas said.

De Lima not convinced

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima is not convinced by the findings of the PNP that only two senior police officers are liable for murder of Cadavero and Panogalinga.

In an interview yesterday, she said the NBI would pursue its parallel probe into the incident even after the PNP already concluded that only Magat and Oco are liable for murder.

“The NBI is looking into a possible conspiracy. Since the act of one is the act of all, it could be possible that there are more than two police officers who should be charged with murder,” she said.

De Lima said she wants the bureau to come up with a thorough, complete report not only on the rubout incident but also on alleged link of the Ozamiz gang to recaptured drug lord Jackson Dy.

“The PNP report is not complete on the issue of rubout. We want to know who gave the order to execute Cadavero and his companion. We will really pursue that (angle),” she said.

De Lima, who is in the middle of a word war with PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group over charges and countercharges with the NBI, insisted there is link between Ozamiz gang and Dy – contrary to the claim of PNP.

“Those two are connected, at least based on theory of the NBI,” she said.

De Lima also bared charges are already being prepared against Senior Superintendent Jose Mario Espino, former chief of the CIDG’s anti-organized crime division, for revealing the identities of two witnesses of NBI who accused CIDG men of carting away around P20 million and 80 kilos of shabu during the re-arrest of Dy.

She said Espino and his team violated the confidentiality provision of their witness protection program.

“We are now readying the charges. As I said, the identities of our witnesses can only be revealed upon their consent. In this case, the two witnesses specifically requested for privacy so there’s a violation,” she said.

“They are law enforcers, so they should know how important it is to protect witnesses. So why would they expose the identities? What’s the motive behind that?” she asked.

The tension between NBI and CIDG escalated after Espino accused an agent of the bureau of protecting Dy.

De Lima dared the police official to name names or just shut up. – With Edu Punay, Aie Balagtas See