‘RPN-9 cameraman’s slay not simple robbery’

The star witness in the recent slaying of a cameraman of RPN-9 said yesterday that the case was not a simple robbery with homicide but a "well-planned" liquidation attack.

"We planned his liquidation for he was a threat to our group in relation to his work as a newsman," Charles Galarce, 22, the key witness in the killing of RPN-9 cameraman Ralph Ruñez, told The STAR.

Ruñez was shot dead by two motorcycle riding men in front of his house in Tala, Caloocan City North on July 28.

"We planned to make it look like a simple case of robbery to mislead the police," Galarce said.

He said Ruñez got wind of his group’s "activities" in Tala and this had "upset" their "policeman handler."

Galarce said his group, composed up of active cops and former military men who are engaged not only in robbery but also in gun for hire.

"We call our assassination acts as tumba tao and I’m one of the hit men," Galarce said.

He said his former groupmates felt like they were untouchable because their "bosses" were policemen and "powerful people."

"We even used marked police vehicles in our operations," he said.

Galarce turned state witness after his group tried to liquidate him for backing out of their original plan to kill Ruñez.

During the attack, he sustained at least six gunshot wounds.

He said he backed out of the plan to kill Ruñez after his group short-changed him on their loot in one of their operations.

His cooperation with the police resulted in the arrest of suspects Inspector Bryan Limbo, PO2 Aristotle de Guzman, and Ernani Magnayon.