CEBU Gov. Junjun Davide said it right. He said the high-profile killings that happened in the past weeks in Cebu have a slim chance of being solved soon even as he urged the police to speed up the investigation. He issued the statement after the burial of Ronda Mayor Nonie Blanco, who was shot to death in cold blood right inside the Municipal Hall where he had slept for some time after he received death threats.
“With the number of high-profile murders, especially (those involving) government officials, I have my doubts if they could solve them. That is why they need to speed up their investigation and immediately apprehend those responsible,” Davide told SunStar Cebu.
The police hierarchy in the region has issued statements that all these murders are now under investigation. Sadly, we have yet to see charges filed against those responsible.
The case of Skyler, the five-year old boy accidentally hit by a stray bullet from the gun of one of the police operatives who were after illegal drugs suspects in Ermita, could have been among the unsolved crimes had his parents not asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the case.
We are not saying that the police are incapable of investigating the murder of people, including government officials, and of going after the suspects. But the current pace the police are investigating these murders only raises doubts that the culprits would be charged and the deaths are legally avenged.
Worse, there are suspicions that some of those killed were already marked because they were linked to the illegal drugs trade. But what about those murdered that were not in the police’s narco list?
The relationship between Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and police officials went sour when the mayor defended his friend, Tejero Barangay Councilor Jessielou Cadungog, who was allegedly the target of an assassination plot. But his driver, William Macaslang, was able to fire first and kill the supposed gunman who turned out to be a cop, PO3 Eugene Calumba.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) filed murder charges against Macaslang with Cadungog charged as accessory to the crime. But the NBI only filed a homicide case against Macaslang. Cadungog was not included in the charge.
The Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the complaint that the CIDG filed against Macaslang and Cadungog but upheld the filing of the homicide case against Macaslang. The CIDG has filed a motion for reconsideration.
The relationship between Mayor Osmeña and city police officials became more strained when the mayor demanded for the documents that covered the possession by Michael Banua of a gun. Banua was the driver of the motorcycle that Calumba boarded. The police said Banua, who is from Negros, was their asset. The police officials have kept mum on the mayor’s demand.
According to police officials, Calumba, who was assigned at the Parian Police Station, was conducting surveillance operation when the incident happened. They denied that Calumba was a hitman. Calumba was given a decent burial in his hometown in Negros.
From all these circumstances and to erase those suspicions, police officials should prove to the Cebuanos that they are capable of solving these murders and that not a single police officer was involved in these.