3 police teams tracking down killers of Armscor executive

Three teams of crack police operatives have been dispatched to different areas in Metro Manila and nearby provinces to track down and arrest the suspects in last Wednesday’s ambush-slaying of an executive of a local gun manufacturing firm in Marikina City.

Senior Superintendent Felipe Rojas Jr., Marikina City police chief, told The Star they are following up a "good lead" in the killing of Danilo de la Paz, 52, vice president and general manager of the Armscor Philippines.

However, Rojas refused to divulge details on the leads being pursued by his police investigators so as not to jeopardize ongoing follow-up operations.

"I cannot divulge right now the other operational aspects of the case," said Rojas in an interview. "But I’ve sent out three police teams to go after the killers."

Witnesses said the five suspects were in their early 20s.

A police artist has prepared cartographic sketches of the five suspects, as described by the witnesses, to help police in their effort to track them down and arrest them.

The Marikina police chief said De la Paz started receiving death threats last year while the company was at the height of negotiations for its collective bargaining agreement with its labor union.

"He started carrying a gun last November after he received death threats. He also altered the time and the areas he used when reporting for work," said Rojas, noting that De la Paz could have lowered his guard last Wednesday, six months after the threat was made.

Rojas could not say whether De la Paz was carrying a gun or if he had fired a weapon during the ambush because the clutch bag he was carrying was taken by the suspects.

De la Paz was negotiating a curve at the corner of Fortune Avenue and Champaca street in Barangay Parang at about 9:35 a.m. last Wednesday when four of five suspects opened fire at him at close range.

Police recovered 22 spent shells from caliber .45 automatic pistols at the crime scene. The suspects dragged De la Paz’ body out of his vehicle and tried to start the engine of his gray Isuzu Trooper with license plate XMT 668, but failed.

Chief Superintendent Oscar Valenzuela, director of the Eastern Police District (EPD) said De la Paz was in charge of the day-to-day operation of Armscor, which has offices and a warehouse in Barangay Parang.

"We are looking on all angles to determine the motive behind De la Paz’s slaying," said Valenzuela.

Earlier, Valenzuela asked the Camp Crame-based Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Intelligence Group (IG) to join the De la Paz ambush-slay probe to make the investigation "well-rounded." Valenzuela said Rojas and representatives from the CIDG and IG will exchange notes on how to solve the case.