MANILA, Philippines - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is set to file murder charges against policemen implicated in the killing of Ozamis robbery gang leader Ricky Cadavero and his alleged henchman, Wilfredo Panongalinga.
“Definitely, it’s murder. Definitely, it’s a rubout,†a source told The STAR.
The source declined to cite a specific date when the case will be filed but said it could be “next week.â€
The source also refused to name those included in the recommendation. Fifteen policemen, including Regional Special Operations Group head Superintendent Danilo Mendoza, were subjected to the NBI probe.
Cadavero and Panongalinga were killed in San Pedro, Laguna on July 15 during an alleged attempt by gang members to rescue them.
The police officers claimed that the two tried to grab the firearms of the Calabarzon policemen who were escorting them from Cavite to their headquarters.
A 16-year-old boy who witnessed the incident, however, belied the police officers’ story. No motorcycle-riding men, as claimed by the police officers, attempted to rescue Cadavero and Panogalinga, the boy said.
Earlier, a source also told The STAR that a shootout is impossible, based on the results of bullet trajectory tests on the vehicle carrying Cadavero and Panogalinga.
Citing the trajectory of the bullet holes found in the windshield, window and seats of the police van, at least two bullets could have directly hit or even killed the driver and the person in the passenger seat of the van.
The person driving the van and the person in the passenger seat were police officers, both of them unscathed.