Last caller set up slain businessman, probers say

MANILA, Philippines - A construction firm owner killed in an ambush in San Juan City Monday may have been set up by the last person who called his cell phone, police said yesterday.

Senior Superintendent Bernard Tambaoan, San Juan police chief, said they subjected to technical investigation the two cellular phones recovered from the vehicle of Kelvin Tan, 32, to identify the persons he last talked with.

“We are still in the process of gathering evidence. We are following up good leads,” he said in an interview.

Senior Superintendent Remus Medina, intelligence chief of the Eastern Police District (EPD) said one of the last callers of Tan might have something to do with his death.

“I strongly believe that Tan was set up for the kill,” said Medina in an interview. “The caller wanted to know if the victim was at the right place at the right time before confirming the strike of the gunman.”

Tan, owner of K.T. Builders, encashed a P800,000 check at a bank along Ortigas Avenue in Greenhills last Monday.

He then handed the money to a certain Reggie Guadayo, a bodyguard of a business associate, at a nearby coffee shop. Tan had just entered his Toyota Altis (POZ-789) when he was shot by an unidentified attacker six times. He died on the spot.

The gunman ran across the street, boarded a waiting motorcycle, and fled toward EDSA, police said.

Tan’s relatives said that several days prior to his killing, he was raising a big amount of money to pay a long-standing debt.

Meanwhile, the San Juan police released yesterday a computer-generated image of Tan’s killer, based on a description provided by a security guard who witnessed the attack.

The guard said the killer was a fair-skinned man of medium build, at least 5’6” tall and between 55 and 58 years old. He wore glasses, a violet long-sleeved shirt and denim pants, according to the guard.

EPD director Chief Superintendent Miguel Laurel asked the public to report to the nearest police station the presence of the gunman as he is armed with a .45 caliber pistol.