3 suspects in robbery-slay hunted

MANILA, Philippines – The Calabarzon police launched yesterday a massive manhunt for three suspects in the killing of a female police officer and the wounding of her companion during a P2.2-million robbery in Laguna last Wednesday.

Chief Superintendent Perfecto Palad, Calabarzon police director, said four witnesses have surfaced and gave Task Force Ludivina vital information that would greatly help in solving the killing of Senior Inspector Ludivina Guinauli and the wounding of PO3 Michael Barnuevo.

Palad said a police artist was able to prepare sketches of the three suspects, two of them resembling suspected robbers in the police rogues’ gallery.

“Two of the suspects described by the witnesses are involved in robbery cases and we are now determining whether they have pending arrest warrants so we could effect their arrests,” said Palad in an interview.

Guinauli, a disbursing officer of Police Regional Office 4-B (PRO4-B), had just withdrawn P2.2 million from the Metrobank branch in Barangay Parian, Calamba City last April 22 when she and Barnuevo were shot.

After grabbing the money from the two policemen, the suspects escaped towards unknown direction.

PRO4-B director Chief Superintendent Louie Palmera said P1.5 million of the loot was intended for individual clothing allowance for their 140 police recruits, P180,000 for the allowances of their non-uniformed personnel, and the rest for his command’s maintenance and operating expenses.

“We have no problem with the money because it was bonded. And Camp Crame is now working for the release of the money so we can distribute it to the beneficiaries,” said Palmera.

Palmera said he and Palad assured the husband of Gui­nauli, Chief Inspector Ernesto Guinauli, that they would exert their utmost to solve the case.

Chief Inspector Guinauli is the administrative officer of the Quezon provincial police office.

Palmera and Palad are coordinating their efforts to get the killers of Guinauli in the soonest possible time.

According to Palad, forensic experts from the local crime laboratory are now cross-matching pieces of evidence like spent shells and slugs recovered from the crime scene with other evidence from previous robbery cases.

Palad said they are also exerting efforts to locate a witness who videotaped the Calamba robbery. – With Ed Amoroso