Suspect in Lacuna slay identified by probers

A suspect in last Thursday’s fatal shooting of an uncle of Manila Vice Mayor-elect Danilo Lacuna has been identified by the Western Police District.

WPD Homicide detectives identified one of the suspects as Tony Romero, reportedly a defeated mayoralty candidate in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija.

Homicide detectives said Romero was identified by a waitress and a guest relations officer as among the five suspects who shot Benjamin Lacuna outside the Hugs Music Lounge and Restaurant along Mabini street at about 12:10 a.m.

Police investigation showed that Lacuna, 52, a resident of 25 Interior Kagitingan St., Muzon, Malabon, was drinking inside the pub when the suspects appeared and exchanged "bad" stares with him.

When Lacuna later went to board his car, the suspects followed him. One of the suspects, a certain Jojo, allegedly a caretaker of the Gold Star money changing shop, placed his foot on the bumper of the victim’s car to prevent him from driving off.

This apparently irked the victim who got off his car and confronted the suspects. Police said that during the altercation, one of the suspects suddenly pulled out a gun and shot Lacuna at close range, killing him on the spot.

The suspects then continued firing as they made their escape on foot. The gunfire wounded Elvira Bulawin, 20; and Raquel Borbusia, 25, both guest relations officers of the pub. They sustained gunshot wounds in the legs and were rushed to the Ospital ng Maynila. WPD Homicide detectives have stepped up their manhunt for Romero and the other suspects.

Meanwhile, 10 operatives of the Philippine National Police-Intelligence Group (PNP-IG) who killed on May 19 a hotel steward and a young girl mistaken for a group of kidnappers were summoned by the Department of Justice to answer the charges against them.

State Prosecutors Melvin Abad and Aristotle Reyes scheduled the preliminary investigation of the murder, frustrated murder and highway robbery charges against the subordinates of PNP-IG chief Senior Superintendent Reynaldo Berroya at 2 p.m. today.

A similar hearing was also scheduled on June 29, where Superintendent Edgar Iglesia and nine others will explain the killings of Fernando Lozada, 48, chief steward of new World Hotel, and Marian Unson, 18, a friend of Lozada’s 17-year-old daughter, Clarissa.

Among those expected to appear at the DOJ are Iglesia, Chief Inspector James Mejia, Senior Inspector Edwin Portento, Inspectors Preston Bongangan, Cesar Percival Pangda and Christine Tabdi, and PO1s John Balatin, Arnold Solas, Cherilyn Tundayang and Frederick Taala.

Abad said they received the order to investigate the Lozada case on June 4 and sent the summons the same day, all of which were received by the PNP-IG two days later by PO2 Irma Teoxon.

The complainants in the case are Clavel Lozada, wife of the victim, and the National Bureau of Investigation which investigated and filed the criminal charges with the justice department.

Lozada and Unson were accidentally killed as PNP-IG agents mistook their Mitsubishi Lancer (TKM-265) for that of the kidnappers of Mark Bacalla, 24, who was abducted and slain by the kidnappers on May 3.

Berroya’s men were staked out to arrest the kidnappers after the Bacalla family agreed to pay more than P400,000 as second ransom payment to Zaldy Cariño and five others, alleged cohorts of mastermind Onofre Surat. – Mike Frialde and Delon Porcalla