Article by:
John Rey Saavedra
CEBU CITY – Three policemen and an ex-cop tagged in the killing of a candidate and her husband in San Fernando town are now facing robbery with double homicide charges, the Police Regional Office-Central Visayas (PRO-7) said.
In a press briefing Wednesday, PRO-7’s head of the Regional Police Investigation and Detective Management Division, Col. Josefino Ligan said Staff Sergeants Rene Catamora, Junrey Ypil, and Junrey Batobalonos, along with former policeman Esmeraldo Quillosa, are now in police custody.
They were suspects in the killing of Ma. Louela Baringui-an and her husband Pedro inside their house in Barangay Panadtaran, San Fernando town early this month. Louela was a reelectionist barangay councilor.
Catamora, who is assigned to the Consolacion Police Station, surrendered to the police regional headquarters on February 18, while Ypil, who is a Danao City cop, surrendered to the Provincial Intelligence Unit.
Batobalonos turned himself in to the intelligence unit of his place of assignment in Lapu-Lapu City while Quillosa surrendered to the San Fernando Police Station to shed light on the incident.
“PSSg Catamora felt his utmost guilt and confessed his involvement in the crime committed. Upon his surrender, he brought with him his vehicle, a blue Nissan Navarra, used as a get-away vehicle that sustained bullet holes,” Ligan said.
Catamora sustained a gunshot wound on his right wrist after they were being shot at by Louela’s son, Sherwin, while fleeing the area.
In his extrajudicial confession, Catamora implicated another policeman, a certain Master Sgt. Alvin Enad, who is assigned at Ronda Municipal Police Station.
Enad, who allegedly secured the getaway vehicle for the heist, has not released any statement yet.
After their surrender, PRO-7 regional director Brig. Gen. Eduardo Roque Vega ordered a follow-up investigation on the killing.
“We’ll have in-depth investigation to see if there are other possible personalities involved in the incident and who ordered the killing,” Vega said.
“There will be no let-up in PRO7’s Internal Cleansing Program. I will make sure there will be no stones left unturned against these erring policemen. May this serve as a warning,” he added. (PNA)
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