NBI claims strong case vs radioman in Lintuan killing

DAVAO CITY – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) insisted yesterday that it has a strong case against radio block-time announcer Leonilo Larosa, 48, who it tagged in the Christmas Eve killing of Fernando “Batman” Lintuan, 52, his fellow broadcaster at Aksyon Radyo dxGO here.

“We would like to stress that we do have a very strong case against Larosa and that he, indeed, killed Lintuan,” Celso Ginga, NBI Southern Mindanao officer-in-charge, told The STAR.

Ginga debunked earlier doubts raised on the role of Larosa in the Lintuan killing.

Had the NBI’s charge against Larosa been weak, Ginga said the city prosecutor’s office would not have accepted it.

Ginga said prior discussions were made with city prosecutor Raul Bendigo on the filing of the case against Larosa.

Aside from murder, Larosa was also charged with illegal possession of firearms after a Super caliber .38 pistol was found in his Mitsubishi Pajero during a raid by NBI agents on his house in Liceralde Village here last week.

Ginga cited the positive identification of Larosa as Lintuan’s alleged killer by a 15-year-old teenager, now kept under the witness protection program of the Department of Justice.

“At first, we thought Larosa was the mastermind of the killing, but then by accident, the witness identified him to be the gunman himself,” he said.

Credible witness

Ginga also noted the witness’ credibility, saying he was a scholar who had to temporarily stop schooling to help bring justice to Lintuan’s family.

“The boy was shaking and crying and he ran to his security detail, saying, ‘Yun, yun ang gunman (That’s the gunman),’” Ginga said.

In a phone interview with The STAR, the witness said he was very positive that the gunman was really Larosa.

“Siya gyud (It was really him). Kadtong tawo sa pagkahitabo pareho ug nawong ug lawasa. Pareho pud ang ilang kutis, puti nga may pagka-itom gamay (The man in the incident had the same face and body build. They also have the same skin, fair with a little darkness),” the witness said.

The witness said he also distinctly remembered the gunman’s voice when he heard Larosa speak.

Ginga also clarified reports that the NBI jumped the gun on the multi-agency Task Force Batman that was created to go after Lintuan’s killer, when they raided Larosa’s house last week.

Lintuan was popularly known as “Batman” since he was a descendant of the Mandaya tribe of Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental.

Led by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Task Force Batman is also composed of representatives of the local NBI office, the intelligence divisions of both the Southern Mindanao and Davao City police as well as the Sta. police station here.

“It should be remembered that aside from Task Force Batman, the DOJ also created a separate task force to go after the killers of Lintuan and this time, it is led by the NBI,” Ginga said.

Ginga said he finds no problem at all between the NBI and Task Force Batman.

“We cooperate fully with Task Force Batman. In fact, the NBI Davao is actually with the task force. We make regular reports to Task Force Batman,” he added.

Ginga said there has been a misconception on another suspect, a certain Oliver Antoc, who was first tagged to be the gunman by two witnesses, a mother and her teenage son.

“We were actually following certain leads and both Antoc and Larosa were among the suspects. Antoc was identified, but no case was filed against him because of insufficient evidence. But now, we have sufficient evidence to pin down Larosa,” he said.

However, Larosa denied the accusations. In a statement yesterday, his lawyer Carlos Zarate, said Larosa “is not running away from anyone or anything; he shall face the charges in court.

“He (Larosa) said his conscience is clear and that he shall face his case squarely,” Zarate said.

“In fact, Mr. Larosa is going back to his radio broadcast soon,” Zarate added.