Town police chief kills subordinate

CAMP ALEJO SANTOS, Bulacan — Differences between the police chief of Meycauayan town and one of his men came to a head Wednesday night when the former fatally shot the latter at a road checkpoint.

Superintendent Edgardo de Leon was arrested after killing PO2 Roberto Hufano Jr., assigned with the Police Community Precinct 2 in Meycauayan, said Senior Superintendent Felizardo Serapio Jr., provincial police director.

Serapio said Hufano allegedly fired his weapon after he failed to locate De Leon at the municipal police headquarters the previous night.

Hufano reportedly failed to report when De Leon summoned him about the incident.

De Leon decided to confront Hufano while the latter, along with three colleagues, was manning a checkpoint along the MacArthur Highway in Barangay Calvario before midnight Wednesday.

A heated argument ensued between superior and subordinate, and at the height of the tussle, De Leon reportedly pulled out his handgun and shot Hufano in the head, killing him on the spot.

De Leon, however, told investigators that Hufano had raised his M-14 rifle and gestured to shoot him, prompting him to outmaneuver Hufano.

A team from the provincial crime laboratory found eight empty caliber 9-mm shells at the scene.

Chief Superintendent Vidal Querol, Central Luzon police director, has relieved De Leon from his post and recommended his dismissal from the police service.

De Leon, now detained at the provincial police headquarters, will face criminal and administrative cases over the incident, Serapio said.

"This would somehow affect the image of the local police. But we have to be clear that the alleged reason behind this is an old grudge (between the two). We are still conducting an investigation to determine who caused the argument that led to this," Serapio said. — With Ric Sapnu and AP