Vendor charged for killing cop on anti-terror mission

MANILA, Philippines –  A vendor was charged yesterday for allegedly killing a Manila policeman who was on an anti-terror mission in Sta. Cruz Tuesday night.

Nashrodin Taratingan was arrested by the police at a motel in Sta. Cruz, Manila right after the killing of Police Officer 3 Luis Sagum, 53, detailed at the Manila City Hall.

Sagum was hacked to death Tuesday night while reportedly on an anti-terrorism mission in Sta. Cruz district. He was tasked by his commander, Chief Inspector Mar Reyes, to verify information that armed Muslim terrorists are planning to bomb a Light Railway Transit (LRT) station in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

Together with another policeman, Sagum interviewed Muslim vendors along Rizal Avenue near the LRT Carriedo station. Taratingan led Sagum into an alley, where he was supposed to reveal vital information. Once there, a vendor identified as “Alexis” attacked Sagum with a bolo. Taratingan’s right hand was wounded during the attack.

Sagum and Taratingan were rushed to the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, where the policeman died while being treated for hack wounds in the head and neck. Several of the victim’s fingers were cut when he tried to parry the blows.

Taratingan reportedly insisted on leaving the hospital after receiving first aid treatment for his wounds.

“Though he was not the one who hacked the victim, circumstantial evidence showed that he was an accomplice of Alexis,” Inspector Armando Macaraeg, who heads the homicide section of the Manila Police District, said. Taratingan “even tried to hide in a motel and failed to report the incident to the police.”

Taratingan vehemently denied allegations that he was an accomplice, saying he did not know they would be attacked. He claimed he usually accompanied Sagum while the policeman patrolled the Sta. Cruz area.

Police are also looking into reports that Sagum was engaged in a money-lending business with Muslim vendors in Sta. Cruz.

Metro cops ready for Valentine bombing anniversary

Meanwhile, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said it is prepared for the anniversary of the 2005 “Valentine’s Day bombings” that left 11 persons dead and 93 others hurt.

“I have already met with the various district directors of Metro Manila and we have implemented a comprehensive security plan. The NCRPO is also on full alert,” NCRPO chief Director Nicanor Bartolome said in a radio interview yesterday.

Police officers will be stationed at Metro Rail Transit and LRT stations to conduct security checks, he said.

To prevent a repeat of last month’s Makati City bus bombing, Bartolome is asking city bus operators to install surveillance cameras in their units.

He is also calling on the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority to strictly enforce the rule on loading and unloading only at designated bus stops. Bartolome said it would be easier to install surveillance cameras at designated bus stops. – With Mike Frialde