Spent shells match Yuzon’s firearm
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Mon, 07 Jan 2019 16:01:13 +0000
HENRY Yuzon (center)
The noose further tightened around the neck of Daraga, Albay Mayor Carlwyn Baldo as some of the recovered spent shells during the Dec. 22 assassination of Ako Bicol partylist Rep. Rodel Batocabe and his police escort matched with the handgun that was licensed to be owned by the main gunman whom police identified as a confidential security of the local chief executive.
Director General Oscar Albayalde, chief of the Philippine National Police, explained that the result of the ballistic examination is essential since it only established that the extra-judicial confessions of the six arrested suspects, particularly of the main gunman Henry Yuzon, are true.
“One development that will further boost our case is that the licensed firearm of Yuzon matched with the 11 spent shells recovered,” said Albayalde in a press briefing in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
All the six suspects reportedly admitted their participation to liquidate Batocabe and pointed to Baldo as the mastermind who allegedly offered them P5 million for the hit.
Witness Emmanuel Judevar was the first to confess about the plot hatched in August 2018 to kill Batocabe after he declared his interest to run for mayor of Daraga in the midterm elections next year. But Judevar reportedly backed out after a falling out with Baldo.
The fear of being targeted next over his knowledge on the Batocabe kill plot reportedly drove Judevar to spill the beans when police interviewed him and eventually squealed the names of the six suspects who did the assassination.
The confessions made by the six suspects, including that of Yuzon who claimed that they were double-crossed by Baldo since the P5 million was not paid, are sufficient evidence to pin down the Daraga, according to Albayalde.
But the ballistic examination results, according to Albayalde, have further solidified all the pieces of evidence that they have.
Based on the ballistic examination results, there were two types of firearms used in the killing of Batocabe and his police escort SPO2 Orlando Diaz – a .40 caliber pistol and a .45 pistol.
Yuzon had earlier claimed that he used his .40 caliber pistol in the killing. The other firearm is believed to have been used by the back-up gunman, Rolando Arimado.
“We will submit these findings to the court. We certainly have an airtight case against the mayor and the rest of the suspects,” said Albayalde.
Chief Supt. Amador Corpus, director of the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, said that they are now completing all the additional pieces of evidence for the filing of administrative cases against Baldo before the Ombudsman.
Part of the filing of the case is to request for the preventive suspension of Baldo before the Ombudsman.
On the other hand, the National Police Commission is expected to issue a ruling on whether or not Baldo would be stripped of powers over the local police.
Rumors have circulated about two other possible motives such as internal squabbles in the Ako Bicol party-list group and a “business angle.”
Albayalde said that he has not heard of other angles on the Batocabe slay, aside from the possible involvement of the local communist rebels which was pursued alongside with the political angle.
“What we focused on is the act of the murder and those involved, and we were able to solve it,” said Albayalde.
But he said that they are not discounting the possibility that there could be some people higher than Baldo who have something to do with the death of Batocabe.
“That is why we have been saying that this case was solved but not yet closed,” said Albayalde. (Aaron Recuenco)