Umale ambush: Three of 4 suspects fired guns

Three of four suspects fired handguns in the ambush of businessman Leonardo Umale at the Pearl Plaza in Pasig City last Mar. 16, police said yesterday.

Chief Superintendent Ernesto Belen, director of the Philippine National Police (PNP) crime laboratory, said five empty shells recovered at the crime scene showed they were fired from three different caliber .45 automatic pistols.

"Definitely, our examination on the recovered empty shells showed they were fired from three pistols," Belen told The Star.

Belen said they are currently cross-matching the recovered empty shells from the Umale ambush with their holdings on previous cases such as those from the slaying of former Pasig City Rep. Henry Lanot.

The politician was gunned down while eating lunch at a restaurant in Pasig City in April last year. Police and the National Bureau of Investigation have yet to catch Lanot’s killer.

Belen said their findings on the empty shells were forwarded to Task Force Umale, which was created by Metro police chief Director Vidal Querol to solve the ambush-slay.

Eastern Police District (EPD) director Chief Superintendent Charlemagne Alejandrino, the concurrent head of Task Force Umale, said he believes two of the gunmen opened fire at Umale.

"The third gunman shot Pearl Plaza electrician Ernesto Lanton, when he rushed to the aid of his boss," he said.

Earlier, Umale’s wife, Clarissa Victoria, told Pasig police investigators that her husband saw a man with drawn gun approaching him so he tried to run.

The gunman opened fire, hitting Umale in the back.

The suspect then walked toward Umale and fired a shot to the back of his head to finish him off. The suspects then casually walked away after making sure Umale was dead.

Lanton was rushing to help Umale when he was felled by bullets. He died last Sunday at a Pasig hospital.

Alejandrino met with the Task Force Umale members last Tuesday to assess the progress of their investigation on the ambush-slay.

"So far, walang pang progress ang imbestigasyon namin. Pero nagtatrabaho kami 24 hours a day to solve this case," he said.

Alejandrino also directed Pasig City police chief Senior Superintendent Romeo Abaring to return to the Pearl Plaza to gather additional evidence and interview witnesses to get a clearer picture of the incident. – Non Alquitran