3 NPA guerrillas charged for Aguinaldo ambush-slay

Three suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) were charged yesterday in the Tuguegarao Regional Trial Court (RTC) for the June 12 ambush-slaying of Cagayan Rep. Rodolfo Aguinaldo and his bodyguard and the wounding of their female companion.

Alleged triggerman Felix Robregado and his colleagues, Gerard Mendoza and Iner Bulusan, were indicted for murder in the deaths of Aguinaldo and his aide, Joey Garo, and frustrated murder for the wounding of Amelia Soriano.

Records, according to the Department of Justice, show that the killing was "well-planned and carried out with precision."

"The shooting was also well-conceived. It is clear that Robregado et al conspired in their criminal design to kill the victims," the DOJ added.

State prosecutors Melvin Abad and Ruben Zacarias said there was sufficient evidence to hold the three criminally liable based on the testimonies of 13 witnesses, including Soriano who positively identified them.

Eyewitness Francisco Rumagnera, a boarder in a house beside Aguinaldo’s residence, revealed that he saw a man "sporting a flat top haircut," who turned out to be Robregado, "draw a pistol tucked in his waist and start shooting" toward the congressman.

He also recalled having heard about nine successive gunshots, five of them apparently coming from Robregado’s gun. He said Robregado, along with his two alleged accomplices, came to their rented house the day before the ambush-slaying in Tuguegarao City.

The landlady, Esmeña Gonzales, for her part, said Mendoza and Bulusan were the ones who actually approached her. The group, she said, rented the room for P2,000 as early as May but returned only on June 11.

Housemaids Delmar Sambo and Elma Domingo said they noticed the three suspects apparently "waiting for somebody" at the alley near Aguinaldo’s apartment until 7 p.m. that fateful night. — Delon Porcalla