THE 45-year-old man killed in a shootout in Barangay Macasandig last Thursday, November 9, was not connected to the Bureau of Customs (BOC), BOC-Northern Mindanao officials said.
According to reports, Roy Ancajas, 45, a resident of Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City, was found dead in a ditch in front of the police precinct in Macasandig. He was identified through an ID that says he was a member of the Customs Police.
Based on information and testimonies relayed to him, Roman Moscoso, the region’s Customs Police chief, said Ancajas had a heated argument with Joed Pasasadaba, a licensed broker, prior to his death.
In interview with reporters, Macansandig police commander Senior Inspector Abdul Alim Sumandar believed that a .45 caliber pistol might have been used to gun down Ancajas since there were eight pieces of spent cartridges found at the crime scene.
Investigators also recovered a wristwatch, a sling bag, a backpack containing several documents, and a pink Nissan Sentra sedan bearing plate no. WFG-678.
Reports said Ancajas might have engaged Pasasadaba in a gunfight. The latter was brought to a medical facility where he was treated for the five gunshot wounds he allegedly sustained.
Pasasadaba’s driver Segfried Roxas was said to be in police custody. Roxas reportedly helped authorities in retrieving two .45 caliber handguns with live bullets near the crime scene.
Alvin Enciso, head of the BOC-10’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), said Ancajas in not in any way connected with the agency.
Based on his own findings, Enciso said “Ancajas is not a member of the Customs Police nor is he an employee of the bureau.”
Enciso has verified this by checking the records of the Customs Police and BOC-Northern Mindanao’s roster of employees.
He said the Customs Police ID taken from the victim’s possession was a counterfeit.
Because of this, Enciso said the agency will look into how Ancajas was able to obtain the ID, which bore the signature of Special Agent 2 Pedro Amante Jr., the Enforcement Security Service (ESS) administrative officer.
He said the identification card of the Customs Police should have been signed by the ESS commander. The Customs Police is a unit under the ESS.
In his statement to the police, Amante said that Ancajas is not a bona fide member of the Customs Police as he attested that the victim’s ID was forgery and that he was not the authorized signatory of the Customs Police identification cards.
Enciso said BOC Commissioner Isidro Lapeña, CIIS Director Wilkins Villanueva, and BOC-10 Collector Jamail Marohomsalic have already given instructions to Customs investigators to coordinate with the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation to further investigate details surrounding Ancajas’ death.