A POLICE intelligence chief and a Barangay Intelligence Network (BIN) member are facing multiple murder and frustrated murder complaints for allegedly killing two persons and wounding three others in Barangay Nangka, Balamban three months ago.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 charged PO3 Jose Baldicasa Jr. and Dennis Mancia before the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor Office yesterday afternoon.
Supervising agents Rennan Oliva and Jose Ermie Monsanto of the NBI 7 said the testimony of Barangay Baliwagan, Balamban Councilor Alfonso Buot Jr. led them to the suspects.
Denial
They said Buot's testimony is circumstantial but it corroborated the testimony of
other witnesses.
Baldicasa denied involvement in the incident, saying he was in his house when Ernel Bucag, 21, and Rey Toong, 20, died when a lone gunman shot them on Feb. 7.
Rhembran Estan, 19, his cousin Clint Estan, 24, and Maynard Leonor survived the incident.
Baldicasa accused Buot of fabricating the charges against him to hit back at him. Buot, he said, is facing a criminal complaint for allegedly mauling his (Baldicasa’s) cousin.
Buot is the town's BIN president.
The police officer said he was having a drinking session with his uncle, Leonardo Oño, and cousin, Danilo Oño, inside his home in Baliwagan. Around 9 p.m., Buot arrived to get his BIN identification card.
Liabilities
Buot joined in the conversation, but did not drink. He left past 11 p.m.
Chief Insp. Richard Oliver, Balamban police head, said they will conduct an investigation on Baldicasa to determine his administrative liabilities, if any.
On Feb. 7, around 10:30 p.m., Buot said Baldicasa called to tell him about a stone-throwing incident involving the police patrol car (SJH-488) in Nangka.
After their talk, Buot went out of his house and walked towards the waiting shed. He waited for tanods because they were going to implement the curfew for minors.
Around 10:45 p.m., he saw two motorcycles pass by him. A blue Honda XRM (GJ-5764) was driven by its owner, Mancia. Baldicasa was his passenger.
The police officer was wearing a black jacket and brown short pants. He was also carrying a submachine gun in his right shoulder, said Buot.
The other motorcycle that Buot saw was a black Fury driven by Eliseo Barangan with Boby Camson as his passenger. Both are BIN members.
Distance
Buot said the two vehicles were driving toward Nangka.
“The distance from Baliwagan to Nangka is approximately two kilometers. It would take 10 to 15 minutes to reach the area by vehicle at moderate speed through the national highway,” the complaint read.
The shooting occurred in Nangka around 11 p.m.
Rhembran's sworn statement identified the gunman wearing a black jacket and brown short pants, matching his descriptions with that of Buot's.
He was sitting inside a hut with Toong and Bucag.
The gunman alighted from a blue motorcycle and approached them. The man’s face was hidden by a ski mask and he was carrying a KG-9 submachine gun.
Shooting
Rhembran said the gunman asked them their names and the identities of the persons involved in pelting the patrol car with stones.
The gunman shot them several times, before Rhembran could answer him.
Toong's father, Alvin, said he was playing “bulitse,” an illegal card game, with the victim and other persons when PO2 Marvin Hubahib and PO2 Landy Divinigracia raided them around 9:30 p.m. The police officers were on board the patrol car.
Around 11 p.m., Alvin saw two persons arrive on a blue motorcycle. His description of the gunman is similar to Rhembran's.
In an earlier report, police said three of the victims were playing “bulitse,” while the other was playing a computer game past 11 p.m.
There were unconfirmed reports that somebody had sought police assistance because the
victims were noisy.
When the patrol car arrived, it was pelted with rocks by unidentified residents. Hubahib and Divinigracia retreated.
About 30 minutes later, two men arrived on a motorcycle. The motorcycle passenger alighted and opened fire at the victims.