LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Paraffin test and ballistic examination of the firearms of a policeman who was allegedly linked to the gunslaying of Agno town Mayor Arthur Cabantac a week ago yielded negative results.
Senior Superintendent Isagani Nerez, provincial police director, told The STAR that the paraffin test for possible gunpowder burns was undertaken on the policeman by the crime laboratory at the provincial police office here 48 hours after Cabantac was gunned down. This kind of test must be administered within 72 hours, Nerez said.
Result of the ballistic test of the policeman’s firearm by trying to match empty shells recovered at the crime scene also showed negative result, he added.
“But these two are not yet conclusive that the subject policeman is already off-the-hook,” he said.
The cop’s identity was not yet released pending investigation. He is under police custody here. He was originally assigned in Agno town but was transferred to San Quintin police station due to his differences with Cabantac. He is aligned with Cabantac’s political rivals.
Nerez said the polygraph test which the policeman expressed willingness to undergo will be done anytime next week.
Wikipedia describes polygraph (commonly referred to as lie detector) as an instrument that measures and records several physiological responses such as blood pressure, pulse rate, respiration and skin conductivity while the subject is being asked and answers a series of questions, on the basis that false answers will produce distinctive measurements.
Nerez said they have a good lead that might result in the eventual arrest of the gunman very soon.
The mayor was shot dead around 9:10 p.m. Saturday while playing mahjong in a neighbor’s house in Poblacion East, Agno.
Meanwhile, Adevilenia Cabantac, the mayor’s widow, told The STAR in a phone interview yesterday that her husband’s remains will be buried today at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City after the 2 p.m. Mass. – Eva Visperas