Thursday, May 29, 2008
New Swat building named after City’s slain consultant
THE Lapu-Lapu City Council yesterday named a new building for the Swat police after the slain lawyer Richard “Dick” Sison and passed a related resolution asking investigators to crack the case soon.
Councilor Junard Chan said that a third resolution expressed the City’s condolences to the family of the late lawyer, who served as a consultant on the city’s reclamation project.
Meanwhile, faced with several possible motives in the lawyer’s killing, the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) has decided to focus on running after the gunman.
CCPO Chief Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador said that after Task Force Sison captures the gunman, they will then focus on figuring out the motive.
Comendador said the task force led by Supt. Pablo Labra II is now working on “important leads” on the identity of the lone motorcycle-riding gunman who killed Sison on V. Sotto St., Barangay Tinago, Cebu City past 11 a.m. last May 21.
Sison, who was on board his gray Toyota Hilux (GKP 376), was waiting at a traffic stop when he was shot. He was heading for a motor shop.
Sison will be buried today at Humay-Humay Cemetery in Lapu-Lapu City after a 10 a.m. requiem mass at the Virgin of the Rule Shrine.
The council passed on mass motion yesterday a resolution drafted by Councilor Rodolfo Potot naming the Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) building as the Atty. Richard “Dick” Sison Building.
Potot said the building sits beside that of the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation, where Sison also served as operations chief. Potot, chairman of the committee on police, fire and penology, said that Sison spearheaded the creation of the city’s Swat team and lobbied for funds to equip it.
Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 Director Ronald Roderos, during a monthly police forum yesterday, said the task force, which he supervises, is still in the process of eliminating possible motives.
Among the motives being looked into are the suspicions raised by Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza that Sison’s killing was linked to the campaign against tax evasion and smuggling.
The Lapu-Lapu City Council passed yesterday a resolution condemning Sison’s killing. Councilors also decided to name the Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) building after Sison, who served as the city’s legal consultant.
Roderos said the investigators are holding a daily case conference to discuss information they have gathered so far.
Comendador, on the other hand, said the task force has widened its manhunt against the gunman, extending outside Central Visayas.
Last Tuesday night, members of the task force left Cebu for an undisclosed place. Comendador, however, declined to divulge more details of the manhunt.
Meanwhile, Comendador said he considered the concern raised by Visayas Deputy Ombudsman Pelagio Apostol on peace and order in Cebu City as a “motivating point” for them to improve the crime prevention campaign.
Pelagio earlier called on the police to maximize their efforts on maintaining peace and order, following the killings of Sison and a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) agent, Fire Officer III Priscillano Gingoyon Jr. in Lapu-Lapu City, and the P13-million heist of two jewelry stores last Saturday in Cebu City that left one civilian dead.
Two suspects linked to Gingoyon’s killing tested positive of gunpowder burns, indicating they recently fired a gun.
The twin pawnshop robberies and the shooting incidents in other areas also prompted Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama to again call for the integration of anti-crime groups to help the police.
Comendador, however, said the police force has been doing its best to keep the city a safer place. This can be seen in the consistent drop in crime statistics, he said.
Last year, Comendador pointed out, the CCPO was named the best city police office in the region.
Policemen, like the slain PO1 Noriel Luage, have also risked their lives on the job.
Lapu-Lapu City Police Office Director Louie Oppus yesterday appealed to the public, especially those who are critical of the police, to help them find solutions to the problem instead of criticizing.
Roderos, on the other hand, said the public may help the police by being vigilant and giving information. (JST/OCP)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (May 29, 2008 issue)
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