Dagsa slay gunman's other victims fear filing charges

MANILA, Philippines –  The Manila police said it failed to file yesterday another murder case against a Caloocan City councilman’s alleged killer, who was tagged in another New Year’s Eve shooting in Tondo, because the victims are too scared to file charges.

SPO4 Rafael Melencio, Manila Police District homicide section senior investigator, said documents needed for the filing of murder and two counts of frustrated murder charges against Arnel Buenaflor, alleged cohort Michael Rollon, and suspected handler and financier Rogelio Manguni were “not yet complete.”

“The prosecutor would not accept the charges unless we could get the medical certificates of the surviving victims. But we don’t have them yet because the wounded victims and their kin, including the relatives of the slain victim, are hesitant to pursue the case, fearing for their safety,” Melencio told The STAR.

Melencio said they were only able to persuade last night the relatives of slain painter Elpidio de Juan to help them secure the documents after they gave formal statements to the police.

A witness identified Buenaflor and Rollon in a police lineup as the two motorcycle-riding gunmen who allegedly shot dead De Juan at around 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 31 along Molave street in Tondo, Manila while he was at a street party. A boy and a woman were also wounded.

Buenaflor and Rollon were caught on camera by slain Caloocan City councilman Reynaldo Dagsa, who was taking pictures of his family, moments before he was shot dead on New Year’s Eve in front of their house in Maypajo.

Buenaflor’s cell phone, recovered by police, led to his arrest and that of four other suspects. A murder case was filed against them for Dagsa’s killing.

The same mobile phone linked Manguni to the murder of De Juan in Tondo. Police said Manguni allegedly hired Buenaflor and Rollon for P10,000 each to kill De Juan.

Caloocan City police chief Senior Superintendent Jude Santos said the two killings are not connected.