Family tags suspects in Kua slay

MANILA, Philippines - The four suspects in the killing of former tourism official and Philippine STAR reporter Nixon Kua and the wounding of his younger brother were positively identified by family members yesterday.

As pieced together by police investigators, one of the suspects, Darwin Saminiano, 20, was the gunman.

Senior Superintendent Bernabe Balba, regional chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said Saminiano shot Kua when he tried to rescue his daughter, Sue Ann, when the suspects grabbed her handbag containing P90,000 cash, an iPhone and necklace.

Another suspect, John Rey Cortez, 22, on the other hand, shot Kua’s brother Allyxon when the latter rushed to help his fallen older brother.

The two other suspects were Noel Garcia, 23, who held Kua’s wife, Susan at gunpoint, and Michael Molino, 21, who acted as lookout.

Calabarzon police director Chief Superintendent James Melad declared the case closed, citing the cooperation and guidance of Laguna Gov. ER Ejercito in its speedy solution.

“It is now proven once again that the close cooperation of the police and the local government could lead to a fast resolution of crimes,” said Melad in a press conference attended by Ejercito, Balba, Senior Superintendent Gilbert Cruz, Laguna police director; and Superintendent Gil Manaig, Calamba City police chief.

The four suspects were subjected to paraffin and drug tests yesterday by the police at Camp Vicente Lim in Canlubang, Laguna.

The four remained silent on the charges against them even as one of them claimed that they “don’t know how to hold a handgun.”

Balba filed robbery with homicide and frustrated homicide charges against the suspects before the Calamba City prosecutor’s office.

“We have an airtight case against them,” Melad said.

The four suspects had a pending warrant of arrest for rape committed in 2009.

Their warrant of arrest came out on July 19, two days before they shot Kua and his brother.

Kua, who wrote a column at the tabloid Pang Masa, a sister publication of The STAR, hired workers to do landscaping work in his house at Ayala Greenfields in Barangay Maunong, Calamba City.

The money his daughter was carrying was intended for the salaries of eight workers, Cruz said.

Cruz hinted that an “insider” could have tipped off the suspects that Kua was carrying a large sum of money for the salaries of his workers every Saturday.

“We have identified the insider but I cannot reveal his name as yet for he might go into hiding,” he said.

Cruz added the insider was among the eight workers of Kua in the landscaping of his house.

The eight workers were subjected to questioning last Sunday but were released “for lack of evidence.”

Melad said the information made the four suspects stake out the house of Allyxon, waiting for the arrival of Kua and his family.

Though the Ayala Greenfields subdivision is heavily secured, Melad said the suspects climbed over the concrete fence at the back using an improvised ladder.

At about 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Kua’s wife, Susan, with a child in tow, and their son, Daryl, went ahead inside Allyxon’s house, while Sue Ann was following closely behind, said Balba.

Kua was left parking the vehicle.

When Saminiano grabbed Sue Ann’s handbag, Kua rushed to her side but was shot in the process.

Allyxon was shot by Garcia while emerging from his house, while Susan was prevented from coming near her husband and brother-in-law.

Daryl said, Cortez, Saminiano and Garcia called on Molino to join them in their escape.

Balba said it was Sue Ann who identified Saminiano as the gunman, while Susan tagged Garcia as Allyxon’s gunman and Cortez as the one who pointed a handgun at her.

Cruz said Kua’s family first identified the suspects through their pictures in the gang-rape case they are facing involving a 21-year-old classmate.

The Laguna police director said he enlarged the pictures and showed them again to the family members who did not hesitate to point to them as their attackers.

When the suspects surrendered Monday night, Cruz took video footages of their faces and again the family members positively identified them.

Cruz said they were checking reports that the suspects were trying to raise money for a settlement with their rape complainant.

Armed with the pictures, Cruz and Balba led police teams in raiding a slum area in Barangay Maunong where they were known to be hiding. The raiding team emerged empty-handed.

The four eventually came out of hiding and surrendered to Manaig, accompanied by barangay officials.

Molino was surrendered by his father several minutes before Kua succumbed to a gunshot wound in the face at the Calamba Medical Center.

Ejercito said he ordered an investigation against the security agency of Ayala Greenfields and vowed to file charges should it be found to have committed several lapses.

Ejercito handed over the P200,000 bounty to Melad and Cruz that he earlier had promised. The bounty would be shared by members of the police task force that helped solve the case.

This developed as Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and several senators urged the Philippine National Police (PNP) to ensure that justice is served in the killing of Kua.

Enrile lamented Kua’s death “in the hands of criminals underscores the need for authorities to prevent and control crime with even greater resolve.”

“We must uphold the rule of law and serve stern notice to all criminal elements that the law will catch up with them sooner or later,” Enrile said.

Enrile also extended his condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Kua.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson also condemned the incident, saying that the “crime rate is definitely up over the past year or so.”

Lacson, a former national police chief, said there is a need for the police to intensify further the efforts to prevent crimes rather than allow crimes to happen.

“In Kua’s case, I always adhere to the theory that the second best deterrent to crime is for the police to solve cases that they failed to prevent. The ideal of course is prevention which cannot be absolute,” Lacson said.

Being a dear friend, Lacson said he mourns Kua’s killing “even as I condemn it.” Kua served as Lacson’s media consultant.

“Robbing and killing someone to raise funds to settle a pending rape case highlights my theory on crime prevention and suppression,” Lacson said.

Sen. Francis Escudero also expressed sadness over Kua’s death.

Escudero expressed belief that Kua’s case was an isolated case and not an indication of the trend that criminality is rising.

“This is an isolated incident… in no way does it reflect on the peace and order situation in our country at present,” he said. – Ed Amoroso, Christina Mendez