Bilibid inmate slain; cops eye jailhouse gang power struggle

MANILA, Philippines - A New Bilibid Prison (NBP) inmate who was being groomed to lead the Sigue-Sigue Sputnik Gang, the largest group in the penitentiary, was shot dead Thursday afternoon.

Dennis Amores was shot twice in the face at around 4:30 p.m. while playing billiards at the back of Building 5 or the gang’s dormitory in the maximum security compound.

“We are eyeing power struggle as one of the motives in the killing,” NBP superintendent Richard Schwarzkopf said.

Amores was rushed to the NBP Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

“An informant told me that politics is the motive because Amores is being endorsed to replace the group’s current leader, who is set to leave jail two to three weeks from now,” said Chief Inspector Giovanni Martinez, head of the local police’s intelligence unit.

He was referring to Sputnik leader Allan Kawasa. The NBP has yet to receive information on who wanted to replace Kawasa, Schwarzkopf said.

Sputnik is one of the 12 gangs in the maximum security compound and has over 2,000 members, according to the superintendent.

Following a controversy involving former Batangas governor and convicted killer Antonio Leviste’s unauthorized trips outside the NBP, authorities found out in 2011 that it has been a practice that gang leaders – not jail guards – control and supervise the peace and order situation in the maximum security compound.

Six people are eyed as suspects in Amores’ killing. Two of them are Godwin Castil and Jason Villaruel.

Castil, according to Schwarzkopf, admitted to shooting Amores using a .22 caliber handgun. Villaruel, on the other hand, was tagged by the Muntinlupa police as the one who shot the victim.

Schwarzkopf claimed that inmates got hold of the handgun because of the lax security measures during the past administration. He added that the six suspects will be subjected to a paraffin test to determine the real killer.

Meanwhile, Amores’ remains were transferred to Eastern Funeral Homes in Alabang for autopsy.