|
Thursday, January 09, 2003
Alibi of cop suspect in Dacer slay confirmed
CEBU -- A Cebuano police man linked to the Dacer-Corbito double murder case was in Cebu when the Manila-based publicist and his driver were abducted in Manila on Nov. 24, 2000, police records showed.
But while PO2 Thomas Sarmiento faces this break in his case, a fellow suspect will get no such chance.
Former subordinates in Cebu were shocked by news of the fatal shooting of Senior Supt. Teofilo Viņa, who served as chief of the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force in the Visayas.
Viņa, who was relieved after being linked to the Dacer-Corbito case, later worked as the civil security officer for the Province of Cavite, after he availed himself of optional retirement last year.
Cavite Gov. Ireneo Malicsi said that despite his alleged involvement in the abduction and killing of publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and driver Emmanuel Corbito, he still hired Viņa because he knows the man was a good officer.
Malicsi said over radio dyLA that Viņa was his personal friend, being a native of Cavite.
He could not think of the possible reason for gunman Medar Cruz, 27, to kill Viņa because Malicsi said they do not know each other.
An ABS-CBN report said a personal grudge is being considered in the killing of the retired police officer, who bore eight gunshot wounds. A mayor and a prosecutor are among the witnesses.
Viņa went to a gathering in the residence of a friend, a former councilor, in Tanza, Cavite at 7 p.m. Tuesday. He was about to sit down when Cruz, a fellow guest, shot him in the chest eight times with a .9 mm revolver.
Cruz arrived last Dec. 27 from the US where he worked as a forklift operator.
Although Cruz, who was immediately arrested, denied shooting Viņa, his father, who was with him, pointed to him as the gunman.
The National Bureau of Investigation is stepping into the investigation, with Director Reynaldo Wycoco saying the attack could be linked to the Dacer-Corbito case.
In Cebu, the blotter of the Carbon Police Station showed that Sarmiento, who was flown to Manila last Tuesday in connection with the case, was on duty from 8 a.m. of Nov. 23 to midnight of Nov. 24.
His former superior in Carbon, Senior Insp. Tomas Santander Jr., also attested that Sarmiento was in the office on Nov. 24 preparing the complaints against the drug suspect they arrested the day before.
The other suspects in the Dacer-Corbito case are Chief Insp. Vicente Arnado, SPO4 Benjamin Taladua, SPO1 Rolando Lacasandila, SPO4 Mario Sarmiento and SPO4 William Reed.
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 7 Deputy Chief Ritchie Posadas said they have checked on the suspects but they have been absent without official leave.
But Posadas said they have located some of them. Arnado, though, has reportedly left the country.
Chief Insp. Orlando Yebra, Viņa's subordinate who now heads the Presidential Anti-Crime Emergency Response, said Viņa had a good leadership style.
He treated his subordinates like members of his family but he was also a disciplinarian, Yebra said.
The local media covering the police beat remember Viņa as one of the most accessible sources. Sun.Star Cebu |
|
|
|
 |
| click
to comment on this article or discuss it with other readers |
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
After new cars, Davao dads want Nokia 7650