Cop linked to ambush of ex-barangay chairman

ILOILO CITY, Philippines - Appropriate charges might be filed this week against a policeman who is linked in the ambush try of a former barangay captain and wife at Q. Abeto St., Mandurriao, Iloilo Friday morning.

Senior Supt. Marietto Valerio, city police director, said that ex-barangay captain Ramonito Gratis of Brgy. Pali Benedicto, Mandurriao positively identified SPO1 Rex delos Reyes as the person who shot at them.

Delos Reyes, who was earlier dropped from the rolls due to an AWOL (Absent without leave) charge, was re-instated from the service a few months back.

Last Friday, police accounts stated that while Gratis and his wife were traversing Q. Abeto on board their Sportage vehicle, a man on board a motorcycle shot them.

The first shot hit the car's left windshield but the bullet spared Gratis and his wife. When the biker attempted for a second shot, Gratis said he saw from the car's side mirror that the gunman's firearm apparently jammed. From there, the assailant did not tail them anymore.

One day before the ambush, an unidentified man also hurled stone at his parked vehicle. In 2009, Gratis' car was also lobbed with an M203 grenade. For that incident, delos Reyes was also pointed out as the suspect.

In the latest ambush, the victim described his assailant to have a striking resemblance to delos Reyes, although the suspect allegedly tried to cover his identity by wearing dark glasses and a baseball cap.

With all these threats on his life, Gratis surmised that politics might have something to do with the incident. The former barangay captain was a known ally of former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, Sr. while the suspect allegedly harbored grudges against Gonzalez.

Reports have it that Gonzalez moved for delos Reyes' relief at the Regional Intelligence Division and reassignment to the now defunct 6th Regional Mobile Group based in Victorias City, Negros Occidental. Delos Reyes did not report for duty, thus, he was dropped from the police rolls.

Following his re-instatement, he was assigned to the Regional Headquarters Support Group (RHSG) based in Camp Delgado, Iloilo City, and before the ambush, he took a month leave of absence.