INVESTIGATORS are looking at reports linking the driver of the motorcycle killed in the shootout along Yacapin-Daumar streets, Cagayan de Oro City, to the kidnapping of Enrique Fernandez III on October 23, 2016.
Police Station 2 Chief Gilbert Rollen on Tuesday, February 21, identified the suspect as Michael Herrera, from Barangay 13, this city.
Herrera drove the motorcycle which carried two gunmen who shot Jabar Ukay-ukay manager Mawi Batuintan.
One of the gunmen, Raymund Villanueva, was killed while the second as yet unidentified gunman was reportedly wounded but was able to escape.
Rollen said the village official confirmed the identity of Herrera, who was also a tokhang surrenderee of police station 1 in Divisoria.
“Naay report nga sige siya (Herrera) sa Barangay 13 busa atong gipaadtoan ug gipa-identify sa kagawad ug giconfirm iyang identity (There’s a report that Herrera was always in Barangay 13 that’s why we sent someone to ask for the councilor to confirm his identity),” Rollen said.
He added they don’t have the complete background information of Herrera aside from him being a tokhang surrenderee.
The National Bureau of Investigation-Northern Mindanao (NBI) has stepped in to verify reports that Herrera, who was believed to be a “police asset,” was involved in the kidnapping of Fernandez. The agency is handling the Fernandez case.
Fernandez was abducted by five policemen from the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office outside the Uptown Condotel in Upper Balulang, this city.
The accused policemen Police Senior Inspector Ereneo Ramirez, Police Officer (PO) 3 Alejandro Ubanan, Senior Police Officer (SPO) 2 Jojo Lim, SPO1 Alaindelon Tacubao and PO2 Sangkula Hussein are detained at the city jail.
NBI Head Agent Alex Caburnay said Herrera was a person of interest in the Fernandez kidnapping incident.
“May info, na itong si Herrera ang isa although sa CCTV sa time ng kidnapping kay Fernandez medyo may konting difference kasi bloated na ang cadaver. Pinapuntahan pa rin natin sa (There’s an information that Herrera is involved in the kidnapping of Fernandez but there’s a difference due to the bloated appearance of the cadaver. We sent our) intelligence and the body was claimed by a relative also,” Caburnay said.
He said the NBI will also check whether Herrera was one of the “John Does” in the kidnapping case.
“John Doe” is a placeholder name for male whose true identity is unknown or must be withheld for legal reasons.
“Patuloy pa background checking kung bakit nasali ito sa shooting incident na allegedly sila yung hitmen na tumira kay certain Mawi (The background checking is still ongoing on why the kidnapping case is connected to the shooting incident that they are allegedly the hitmen that shot a certain Mawi),” Caburnay added.