Gunman in newsman’s slay falls

Another suspect in the ambush-slay of tabloid newsman Alberto Orsolino fell into the hands of the authorities following a police operation last Sunday night in Victoria, Laguna.

Chief Superintendent Leopoldo Bataoil, Northern Police District (NPD) director, said alleged triggerman Romelie Lirazan, 33, was arrested by the Victoria police under Senior Inspector Joseph Laureta, municipal police chief.

Lirazan was positively identified by witnesses at the NPD as the back rider and gunman in the incident.

It will be recalled that Orsolino was tailed and shot by two suspects riding tandem on a motorcycle near a gas station on Letre Road at 10:30 a.m. of May 16 in Caloocan City as he drove his white Toyota sedan to work.

Another suspect, SJO1 Ramon Rivera, a Cainta jail guard on AWOL, was arrested early this month. A P50,000 reward for the information that led to his arrest has been given to the informant by Bataoil.

Bataoil said on account of information published in the media, Laguna residents who knew Lirazan informed the police of his whereabouts.

Laureta ordered his men to arrest Lirazan at his safehouse and informed Bataoil of his arrest.

Upon learning of Lirazan’s arrest, Eliza, 41, Orsolino’s widow, proceeded to NPD headquarters to personally express her gratitude to Bataoil for all the support accorded her and her children.

"Hindi lang tulong pinansyal ang ibinigay sa amin ni General Bataoil. Maging ang katarungan ay di niya ipinagkait sa amin," the widow said.

When confronted about the killing, Lirazan admitted he owned the red motorcycle used in the ambush and later abandoned by the killers. He, however denied, he shot Orsolino.

"Patutunayan ko sa korte na hindi ako ang pumatay kay Orsolino," he said while being presented to media at NPD headquarters in Caloocan City.

Lirazan also pointed to a "Jun Joshua" as the gunman and to a "JR" as the motorcycle driver.

As early as May 19, 2006, records showed Luzviminda 2 Barangay Chairman Camilo Berangel, in coordination with Dasmariñas, Cavite police chief Superintendent Mario Reyes, confirmed that the vehicle used in the ambush, was sold for P20,000 by Amar Preet Singh of Dasmariñas to Lirazan.

Berangel said he last saw Lirazan, a member of the Philippine Guardians Brotherhood Inc. (PGBI), at a local motor repair shop a day prior to the killing. A black PBGI shirt, together with other evidence, had been found inside the motorcycle the suspects abandoned near the ambush site.

Lirazan’s wife and two kids also left their house for unknown reasons on May 16, the day Orsolino was killed. Lirazan said he went into hiding after Jun Joshua called him up and advised him to hide.

He also told probers he knew where the two suspects could be located and promised the cooperate with his captors.

A joint force from the Malabon and Mandaluyong police made a follow-up operation at the Old Market of Mandaluyong City, but yielded nothing.

Lirazan is now held in the custody of the Station Investigation and Detective Management Bureau under Superintendent Napoleon Cuaton. — With Pete Laude