Bullets match in Phl shooter's slay, previous killing in Malabon

MANILA, Philippines - One of nine bullets used in the ambush of Philippine practical shooting team member Michael Lontoc matched a slug recovered in a murder case in Malabon last year, police said yesterday.

Superintendent Felimon Porciuncula Jr., Northern Police District (NPD) Scene of the Crime Operations (SOCO) chief, said they conducted cross-matching of bullets and other evidence in previous killings in Malabon and found that a .45 caliber bullet recovered from Lontoc’s body matched the characteristics of a bullet used in the killing of Ronnie Evalarosa on Nov. 2, 2010.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Alan Purisima said the SOCO findings bolstered their suspicion that those who ambushed Lontoc last Sept. 25 were “hired killers.”

“These developments had given the impression that the bullets that killed both victims (Lontoc and Evalarosa) were fired from one and the same firearm,” Purisima said.

The SOCO report identified the owner of the handgun from which the bullets were fired as Renante Renen Eqioma, who is now the subject of a police manhunt.

“We are now not only establishing the whole story in the killing of Lontoc but of the overall picture involving other murder cases in Malabon because of the SOCO findings,” said Purisima, adding that three police teams are now hot on Eqioma’s trail.

Evalarosa was about to enter his house in Sitio 6, Barangay Catmon when Egioma reportedly shot him in the head using the handgun.

Senior Superintendent Ferdinand Ampil, Malabon police officer-in-charge, is coordinating with Evalarosa’s relatives for the filing of appropriate charges against Egioma, who remains at large.

Lontoc had just finished competing at a shooting competition at the Oreta firing range in Malabon when four men shot at his vehicle at close range last Sept. 25.

Reports reaching Purisima showed that two slugs were found embedded in Lontoc’s body, while six slugs from a .9mm pistol were recovered in his silver Toyota Hilux.