Murdered shooter's driver in PNP custody

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Police (PNP) has in its custody the driver of slain Philippine practical shooting team member Michael Lontoc, a source said yesterday.

Louie Alejo Nitor, who had been Lontoc’s driver of Lontoc for several months, has been in police custody since Nov. 1, the source said.

It was not clear whether Nitor surrendered or had been arrested but the source claimed members of the Military Intelligence Group 17 (MIG17), under a certain Maj. Panopio, have interviewed him.

The source claimed Nitor was introduced to Lontoc by his close friend and shooting buddy, Police Officer 2 Chris Agustin, who is assigned at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG).

Nitor religiously worked for Lontoc but he was conspicuously absent when the shooter was gunned down by four armed men in Malabon last Sept. 25.

“He (Nitor) disappeared for a while until he was taken into custody last All Saints’ Day by the PNP,” the source said. The MIG17 immediately rushed to a police camp to interview Nitor.

Lontoc’s driver is undergoing tactical interrogation by police and military investigators who wanted to know whether he has firsthand knowledge of the shooter’s involvement with an international gun smuggling syndicate reportedly operating in the country.

The PNP and military have kept their investigation of Lontoc’s killing under wraps as the case involves “national security,” the source said.

Earlier, Director Alan Purisima, chief of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) claimed Lontoc told friends a week before his death that he wanted out of the syndicate.

Agustin was summoned to appear before the Special Investigation Task Group Lontoc not later than Nov. 7 to reveal all he knew about his close friends’ business dealings.

Meanwhile, Chief Inspector Bong Sta. Teresa, of the Malabon police said they are awaiting the statements of Lontoc’s mother, Wally, and his widow, Len, before filing charges against the suspects in the murder of the shooter.