Laguna police chief killed in Cavite ambush; NPAs eyed

SILANG, Cavite — The police chief of Cabuyao town in Laguna was shot dead yesterday morning by four unidentified assailants in an ambush along a national road in Barangay Lumil here.

Superintendent Eriberto Paglinawan, 49, a resident of Barangay Munting-Ilog in this town, died on the spot from multiple gunshot wounds to the head and body after he was ambushed at 8 a.m.

The victim had come from his brother’s house in Silang town and was on his way to the police station in Cabuyao.

Witnesses said Paglinawan’s car, a Toyota Corolla with license plates SDS 725, had slowed as it passed a speed bump when the suspects, who had been waiting at a nearby variety store, approached the car and opened fire.

The killers were reportedly in their early 20s, clad in white T-shirts and carrying black bags. Witnesses said the killers had been waiting at the store since 6 a.m.

The suspects dumped Paglinawan’s body on the road and tried to commandeer his car. But the vehicle was blocked by a tricycle parked on the road shoulder.

Witnesses said the suspects yelled in Filipino, "We are NPAs (New People’s Army rebels), don’t interfere."

Failing to steal Paglinawan’s car, the suspects commandeered a passing Toyota Corolla with license plates SAU 144. The driver, Benjamin Balayan of Calucob, Silang, was left behind as the killers drove away.

The car, a service vehicle of the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA), was later found abandoned in Barangay Hoyo, some four kilometers from the crime scene.

The suspects also stole Paglinawan’s service firearms, a caliber .45 automatic and an M-14 rifle, before fleeing toward Barangay Hoyo.

Calabarzon regional director Chief Superintendent Enrique Galang Sr. said case investigators are looking into the possibility Paglinawan was killed over a land dispute.

While case investigators have yet to establish the motive behind Paglinawan’s murder, Cavite police director Senior Superintendent Roberto Rosales said Paglinawan’s killing may have been sparked by an old grudge.

Paglinawan’s father, Rosales said, was killed a few years ago and the suspects fled Cavite, fearful that the Paglinawan family would retaliate. Paglinawan’s brother Nicasio, also a policeman, was also killed 13 years ago in Pasig City over a land dispute.

The Paglinawan family owns large land holdings in Barangay Munting Ilog, which became the subject of a family feud.

Rosales also said he cannot rule out the possibility that the ambush was indeed the handiwork of the NPA, since the assassins were in their 20s and used caliber .45 pistols — two known hallmarks of NPA ambush attacks.

Paglinawan was the second Cabuyao police chief to be killed in the past 15 years. Col. Emma Henry was killed in an ambush by suspected NPA rebels in the late 1980s.

Before assuming the post of Cabuyao police chief, Paglinawan was assigned to the Philippine National Police Regional Intelligence and Investigation Division at Camp Vicente Lim, Laguna.

Rosales described the area where Paglinawan was slain as a "clean area," adding that this place was within the vicinity of Camp Castañeda, which houses the PNPA.

During his stint as Cabuyao police chief, Paglinawan was responsible for the dismantling of strike zones near the Nestle Phils. offices there and the dispersal of strikers from the area. The Nestle strikers were identified with left-wing groups.

Case investigators are still working to identify the suspects and determine the motive behind Paglinawan’s killing.

Last month, the NPA claimed responsibility for the killing of former NPA chieftain Romulo Kintanar, who was shot dead at a Japanese restaurant at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City for allegedly betraying the communist movement. — With Christina Mendez, AFP