Six men, all suspects in an earlier holdup, were killed Wednesday night by police in a shootout in Biñan town in Laguna, even as relatives of at least two slain men claim that their loved ones were mere civilians caught in the crossfire.
The suspects, believed to members of a robbery gang, were killed after the group allegedly engaged police in a firefight in Ireneville Subdivision in Barangay San Francisco. Police authorities said they were responding to a complaint by a holdup victim against the suspects, who were caught riding in two separate tricycles. "Alam nila mahigpit ang ating kapulisan against sa motorcycle riding in tandem. So malimit, ang ginagamit nila is tricycle para hindi masyadong halata ang criminal groups posing as passengers," said Supt. Joel Pernito, Biñan chief of police. (They knew our police force is strict in checking motorcycle-riding in tandem. So more often, they use tricycles to be less obvious, with criminal groups posing as passengers.)
According to a GMA News report aired on “24 Oras," the responding policemen chased one of the tricycles until they reached Ireneville, where another tricycle joined the fray and a gunfight ensued.
“Bumaba po ako para i-approach sila. Pag-approach ko, pinaputukan ako," said PO1 Webster Ortiz, who sustained two gunshot wounds. (I alighted to approach them, and as I approached, they fired at me.)
The slain suspects were identified as Joey Llagas, Resty Olivio, Jaime Segundo, Mervin Eduarte, Severino Abutoc and Bingle Abergas. Relatives of some of the suspects, however, cried foul.
Segundo’s relatives said he was in the area since the motorcycle he was driving had broken down.
"Nandoon siya, nag-aayos ng motor. Nadamay lang siya. Siyempre hindi siya nakatakbo kasi nagkakaputukan na," said Rey Macato, Segundo’s nephew. (He was there, fixing his bike. He was just caught in the middle. Of course he couldn’t run because the firefight had started.) Marissa Eduarte, who lost her husband and her brother in the shootout, said her husband Mervin was just a passenger.
"Sumusuko na ang asawa ko, ayaw pa nilang tigilan ng pagbabaril," she said in the same GMA newscast. (My husband was already surrendering, but the police did not stop firing.) “Hindi nila dapat binaril nang ganun. Tao ang kapatid ko, hindi hayop," added Mervin’s sister Zenaida Gomez. (The police should not have killed him. My brother is a human being, not an animal.) The police, however, denied the accusations, insisting that the shootout resulted from a legitimate operation. In fact, one of the suspects was previously arrested for a similar offense, the police said. Ortiz likewise maintained that all the suspects fired at the responding police.
Five guns and a grenade were recovered from the scene. “Yes, pumutok din po ‘yung driver ‘nung isang trike (Yes, the driver of the other tricycle also fired at us)," Ortiz said, referring to Segunda. A policeman showed reporters the tricycle that had supposedly broken down. He kick-started the engine, and it worked. Nevertheless, the Laguna police said they will investigate the incident and subject the suspects’ bodies to a paraffin test to dispel doubts. "Ang ipinagtataka ko lang, bakit nandoon siya sa area? Kung may claim na talagang nadamay siya, paimbestigahan natin yan. Kung ang pulis ay nagkamali, paimbestigahan din natin yan. Kung kailangan, aasuntuhan din natin ang pulis," said Laguna provincial director Sr. Supt Gilbert Cruz. (I’m just wondering, why was he in the area? If there are claims that he was just caught in the middle, we’ll have that investigated. If the police made a mistake, we will also have that investigated. If necessary, we will file a case against the police involved.)—Jerrie M. Abella/JV
