Makati police eye 3 guards in Burgundy shooting

MANILA, Philippines - The Makati City Police is zeroing in on three suspects in the fatal shooting of a security guard at the Burgundy Corporate Tower in Makati on Thursday afternoon.

Makati police chief Senior Superintendent Manuel Lukban said they took into custody 126 security guards hired by the old and new board of directors of the 38-story condominium.

Lukban said they have released 80 of the security guards after they were questioned and their firearms confiscated for ballistic exams.

Jimmy Lagunsad, an employee of the Sidekick security agency (not Spectrum as earlier reported), was shot dead in the chest with a shotgun during a confrontation between members of the Swag security agency guarding the building and security guards of the Sidekick and Spectrum security agencies.

The Sidekick and Spectrum agencies' guards accompanied court sheriff Leonel Roxas, who was serving the notice of temporary restraining order (TRO) on the building's old board led by Roger Serafica.

Police said the shooting which happened at around 5:30 p.m. on the driveway of the building on Gil Puyat Avenue, stemmed from a dispute between the building's old board led by Serafica and the newly elected board led by president Ramon Garcia.

The two boards are fighting for control of the 10-year-old building constructed by Burgundy Realty Corp.

On Thursday afternoon, Makati Judge Joselito Villarosa issued the TRO, which prevented Serafica and the directors of the old board from exercising their power and functions in the building.

Police said the sheriff was met with resistance by a hundred members of the Swag security agency employed by the Serafica group.

According to Lukban, the three suspects are among the 40 members of the Swag security agency now under police custody.

Lukban said that based on a discussion with lawyers from the Serafica group, the Swag security agency has agreed to identify its three guards who were armed with shotguns at the time and could have shot Lagunsad.

Lukban said that one of the three could face the charge of homicide if the investigation could prove that the shotgun he was carrying at the time of the incident was the same one that killed Lagunsad.

Should the 40 Swag security guards remain mum on what had happened, Lukban said all of them and their superiors could face the charge of murder.

"If it is homicide, it means that there was no conspiracy to kill the victim. The motive for the killing could be personal, was done without premeditation or could even be in self defense. But if it was murder, it means that the killing was planned," said Lukban.

Lukban said that once investigation is finished on the three suspects whom he did not identify, they will be subjected to a paraffin test and their guns to a ballistics examination. Lukban said these tests would show who among them had fired their guns.

According to Lukban, evidence at the crime scene points to a shootout between the groups of security guards.