2 suspects in slay of car traders fall

MANILA, Philippines –  Police arrested yesterday two suspects in the murder of car traders Emerson Lozano and Venson Evangelista, whose burned bodies were found in separate places in Central Luzon last Jan. 14.

The arrest came as the leader of a carjacking group and his seven cohorts were nabbed in a separate operation in Dasmariñas, Cavite at around 2:30 a.m., also yesterday.

Reports reaching Camp Crame identified the arrested suspects in the Lozano-Evangelista case as Alfred Mendiola, alias Bading, and Batibot Parulan.

Police said that during questioning, Mendiola and Parulan admitted killing Lozano and Evangelista and pointed to Raymond Dominguez and his brother Roger as the masterminds. Dominguez is out on bail on carjacking charges.

Other details about Mendiola and Parulan were not immediately disclosed.

With the arrest of the two suspects, Chief Superintendent Benito Estipona, director of the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG), said investigators finally found a reason to link Raymond, leader of the Dominguez group, to the Lozano-Evangelista twin-murder case.

“Dominguez met Mendiola and Parulan during his detention and it was then that he convinced the two to join their group,” Estipona told The STAR. “They trusted Bading.”

Estipona said it was Dominguez who settled the bail bonds of the two arrested suspects.

“The police are now positive that Dominguez was behind the killings of Lozano, Evangelista and (Ernani) Sensil,” he said, the last referring to Lozano’s driver.

Investigators are also looking into the link between the Lozano-Evangelista murders and that of Baywalk Bodies member Rejoice Rivera, Dianne Santos in real life, who was found dead along the North Luzon Expressway last Dec. 29, 2010.

Rivera was reportedly a former girlfriend of Dominguez.

Dominguez earlier denied any knowledge of the killings of Lozano, Evangelista and Sensil.

Police noted that four other suspects identified only through their aliases as Joel Mechanic, Rolly the gunman and Roger, are now the subject of a massive manhunt.

Estipona said that on Jan. 11, a day before the abduction of the car dealers, the group tried but failed to convince the victims to allow them to conduct test drives in separate incidents.

Lozano was selling a KIA Carnival model 2008 (QAE-333) registered in his company’s name while Evangelista was trading a black-green Toyota Land Cruiser (NAL-316). The Carnival was found burned in Dinalupihan, Bataan while the Land Cruiser remains missing.

Witnesses identified Mendiola, described as gay, as one of the last persons seen with Lozano when the KIA was taken for a test drive.

Estipona noted that both victims apparently rescheduled the test drive to the following day, Jan. 12, the day the victims were abducted and were last seen alive.

“A day before the abduction, members of the group were not allowed to test drive, so the following day they planned to kill Lozano and Evangelista before they went to see them because they were recognized by the two traders,” he said.

Estipona said they could not yet confirm whether or not the two car traders had any prior dealings with the Dominguez group.

Police said that the arrest of Mendiola and Parulan were based on a warrant of arrest issued by a judge in Central Luzon.

“We can tell media that we now have two suspects under arrest,” said Director Nilo de la Cruz, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

Aside from Dominguez and his three men, investigators said there were several John Does being hunted for the Lozano-Evangelista-Sensil murders.

“We also recovered vehicles, firearms, wallets and slippers and other items belonging to the victims from the group hideout in Pampanga,” police said.

Big-time carjack-robbery gang falls

The arrest of the Onad gang, which was among the five carjacking groups being eyed by the police in the Lozano-Evangelista slay case, was a product of intense surveillance by the Bataan police.

Joint police teams headed by Senior Superintendent Napoleon Cuaton and Superintendent Allan Macapagal, intelligence chief of the Bataan police, had the gang under surveillance on Jan. 19 and 20 and monitored them heading for their hideout in Cavite.

Calabarzon police director Chief Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao Jr. identified those arrested as Ronald Santiago alias Onad, the leader of the group; Joselito Sarabia; Carlo Cabrera; Arnold Alipon; Philip Santos; George Cariaga; Ramir Santiago and Joseph Hilario.

The gang yielded two caliber .38 revolvers, a 12-gauge shotgun and several alleged hijacked items.

“We have no evidence as yet linking them to the murders of Lozano and Evangelista. We are now questioning them to that effect,” a police official said.

Pagdilao said joint operatives from the Cavite and Bataan Provincial Police Office, Highway Patrol Group and Pasay City Police cornered the suspects in their hideout at Barangay Paliparan, Dasmariñas City at about 2:30 a.m. yesterday.

The suspects initially engaged the raiding police teams in a shootout but surrendered upon realizing that they were outnumbered and outgunned, said Pagdilao.

Nobody was hurt in the brief firefight.

Senior Superintendent Arnold Gunnacao, Bataan provincial director, said the group was behind the attempted carjacking of a Hyundai Starex van in Dinalupihan, Bataan last Jan. 18.

The suspects failed to get the vehicle but shot and wounded the owner, Hermino Salvador, in the attempt.

Aside from the firearms, the police raiders recovered a black 2009 Isuzu Alterra (ZST 933), which the group had stolen in Sto. Tomas, Batangas on Jan. 11.

Police said the group is also involved in a series of heists in Pasay, Las Piñas and Makati, including the car theft of a Toyata Land Cruiser in Makati a few days ago.

According to authorities, the group is engaged in carjacking and uses the stolen vehicles as getaway vehicles in their robbery activities.

Station commander sacked

Meanwhile, Quezon City Police Department chief Benjardi Mantele yesterday sacked a police station commander for apparent neglect in the wake of Evangelista’s abduction-slay and the carjacking of a radio anchorman’s van, all happening in just a week’s time and in his jurisdiction.

“We are relieving the EDSA Kamuning station commander to give way to an investigation to determine whether or not there were operational lapses committed by the police in the two incidents,” Mantele told The STAR yesterday.

Mantele said he has relieved Police Station 10 (EDSA Kamuning) commander Superintendent Constante Agpaoa on orders of National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Nicanor Bartolome.

The order took effect yesterday.

Agpaoa is also facing administrative charges related to the Evangelista case last week and the carjacking of dzMM radio host Carlito Balita’s Toyota Hi-ace Grandia from the parking lot of a hotel on Tomas Morato Avenue the other day, all within one week.

He may return to his former post depending on the outcome of the ongoing investigation for perceived lapses on his part, according to deputy chief Senior Superintendent Ranier Idio.

Agpaoa, who was relieved under the command responsibility doctrine, has been temporarily assigned to Mantele’s office in Camp Karingal on floating status.

His deputy, Inspector Christopher Luyun, replaces him as PS-10 commander in an acting capacity.

Reward up for info on killers

Also yesterday, Mantele disclosed that a concerned citizen has initially offered a P500,000 reward for vital information leading to the identification of the suspects in the Evangelista murder and their subsequent arrest.

With the outpouring of sympathy and condolences for Venson’s gruesome death, he said, more anonymous donors are adding to the reward.

Mantele said QCPD’s Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Evangelista was given the task to focus on the Evangelista case. A special task group focused on the Lozano case is headed by CIDG Chief Superintendent Estipona.

QCPD Operations chief Senior Superintendent Idio sits as Task Fore Evangelista commander.

Although focused on two separate cases, both task groups are operating side by side as one integrated body, according to Mantele.

No destabilization attempt

PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo said the authorities have not monitored any link between the Lozano-Evangelista murders and any destabilization efforts, even if lawyer Oliver Lozano has said that the killing of his son and Evangelista could be part of a grand design to destabilize the Aquino government.

Lozano again went to the Department of Justice yesterday afternoon to ask authorities to look into the possibility that the killing of his son Emerson could be part of a destabilization plot.

“The angle of destabilization is worth looking into,” he told reporters. “This series of brutal slays has destabilized the government. Foreign tourists and investors have deferred their trips here. Car dealers are arming themselves,” he said.

Lozano also confirmed that he is planning to file libel charges against TV 5 anchor Erwin Tulfo for his report that his son possibly had links to the Dominguez carjacking syndicate. – With Jerry Botial, Rhodina Villanueva, Raffy Viray, Ric Sapnu, Ding Cervantes, Rhodina Villanueva, Ed Amoroso, Reinir Padua, Edu Punay