Nueva Ecija trader, cop face raps for Tarlac massacre

CAMP MAKABULOS, Tarlac — A businessman and a police sergeant from Nueva Ecija, along with six John Does, are facing murder charges for the Oct. 24 massacre of four people in La Paz, Tarlac.

Senior Superintendent Mario Sandiego, Tarlac police director, said three survivors of the killing have tagged Ronnie Acuña, owner of the RCA trucking firm based in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija, and PO3 Aruilino Hermino Jr. as two of the eight suspects.

Police, however, remain at a loss as to the whereabouts of the two, saying they may have gone into hiding.

Sandiego said probers have ruled out robbery as a motive for the massacre, and are now pursuing the angles of personal grudge and business rivalry.

Police said the victims were transporting chicken manure from Baguio City to Bulacan, Bulacan on board an Isuzu truck at dawn of Oct. 24 when a white pick-up blocked their path along MacArthur Highway in Barangay San Agustin in San Manuel, Tarlac.

Eight armed men alighted from the pick-up, one of them shouting, "Hindi n’yo ba alam naka-aksidente kayo (Don’t you know that you have caused an accident)?"

The victims were then told to board the pick-up. One of the three survivors, Renato David, was able to save himself by hiding behind the truck’s driver’s seat.

The armed men then brought the victims to a remote ricefield in Barangay Guevarra in La Paz town where they were shot with pistols in different parts of the body.

The two other survivors, Edgar Agdane and Hannibal Aragon, told the police that Acuña even allegedly hacked Ernesto San Agustin, one of the four fatalities, in the neck.

Prior to the incident, the three survivors said Acuña had a heated argument with San Agustin, who owned the truck ferrying the chicken manure.

The three other fatalities were identified as Roland Pasag, Jose Flor Umali and Jessie de la Cruz.

Sandiego said Chief Superintendent Oscar Calderon, Central Luzon police director, has instructed the Tarlac, Nueva Ecija and Bulacan police commands, together with the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, to hunt down the suspects.

Calderon also ordered Senior Superintendent Luisito Palmera, Nueva Ecija police director, to look into the possibility that other police officers under his command were also involved in the killing.