FOUR men were taken into police custody yesterday for their alleged involvement in the attacks on brothers Manuel and Nicolas Ting, while his family laid Manuel to rest.
“There is a significant development, and follow-up operations have been made in the twin cases,” said Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador Jr.
He declined to discuss how the four were arrested, while follow-up operations are being conducted, but said the developments will “put a conclusion to the case.”
Two of those arrested were reportedly the gunman and the driver of the motorcycle used when Nicolas was shot in Mandaue City last June 21. His older brother Manuel was shot the next day and died.
One of the policemen, identified as SP01 Raul Cosido of the Theft and Robbery Section, was taken to the Cebu City Medical Center after the patrol car he was driving collided with a civilian vehicle during one of the operations downtown. He
was wounded.
While the police kept mum on the details, a mother of one of the arrested suspects said her son is innocent. (Sun.Star Cebu is withholding her name, as the police have not yet confirmed if her son was one of those arrested.)
She said the police picked up her son in Barangay Ermita at noon yesterday. He is a “habal-habal” driver, who was not aware that the man who hired him was out to shoot a member of the Ting family in Mandaue.
“Gisakyan siya. Igo ra siyang mihatod. Wa siya kahibawo ana (A man rode on his motorcycle. All he did was drive the man there. He didn’t know about the attack),” the mother said.
The mother said her son, who used to belong to a fraternity, later told her about the shooting and insisted he had nothing to do with it.
Nicolas, 69, survived three gunshot wounds in the face and chest, after being attacked in Cabancalan, Mandaue City.
A day after, 72-year-old Manuel, a hotelier, was gunned down in an ambush in Barangay Tisa, Cebu City.
Shortly after Manuel’s death, Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Lani-o Nerez organized a special task force composed of the Regional Intelligence Division, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, PNP Crime Laboratory 7, Cebu City Police Office and Mandaue City Police Office.
Minor
Task Force Ting head Senior Supt. Ramon Melvin Buenafe said one of those arrested is a minor and that the suspects belong to a group known for taking assassination jobs. He said they also found a lead that could point to the mastermind.
“The operation is still going on. The investigation is still not complete,” he said. But “may development na maganda (There’s a good development).”
Buenafe said there is “no indicator” that a dispute over land provoked the shootings, but they have yet to reach a conclusion on the motive.
Yesterday’s breakthrough coincided with Manuel’s burial.
Security was tight during the ceremony, from the requiem up to Angelicum Garden of Angels where Manuel was laid to rest.
Most of those who attended the ceremony wore T-shirts marked “Justice for Maning” and “We miss you, our beloved friend Maning.”
Fr. Raul Buhay, OAR, said in his homily he hopes justice will take its course. In an interview with reporters, Buhay said he trusts the police will pursue the case to put the perpetrators behind bars.
He advised victims of violent crimes not to take justice in their own hands and not to answer with more violence.
Fr. Buhay said Manuel had proven himself to be a good person, who raised his family well.