Probers to seek HDO vs suspects in mayor’s slay

LINGAYEN, Philippines   – Investigators handling the murder case of Urbiztondo Mayor Ernesto Balolong Jr. will seek the help of the Bureau of Immigration and the Department of Justice for the issuance of a hold departure order (HDO) against two more persons recently charged for the crime.

Senior Superintendent Sterling Raymund Blanco, officer-in-charge of the Pangasinan police, said they would check the requirement for the issuance of the HDO against Ramil Tiongson Santos and Eduardo Nicolas.

Santos used a fake passport in renting a car that his group used as a getaway vehicle, while Nicolas was the one who rented an apartment for them.

The suspects were charged with three counts of murder and frustrated murder before the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in San Carlos City for killing Balolong, his police escort Police  Officer 1 Eliseo Ulanday and supermarket employee Edmund Meneses.

Three other persons were wounded in the gun attack.

Two suspected triggermen, Eduardo de Guzman and Marito Sarmiento, arrested shortly after the killing, are detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in San Carlos City.