Mayor's son linked to slay of Iloilo cop

BACOLOD CITY , Philippines   â€” The son of a town mayor in Negros Occidental was allegedly the sixth suspect, who was able to escape, in the murder of a policeman from Iloilo.

Several unconfirmed media reports yesterday said the suspect was among the six who gunned down SPO2 Rex De los Reyes, 43, of Molo district in Iloilo City, at a beach resort in Hinigaran town of Negros Occidental last Sunday.

The five were arrested after a 30-minute chase by the policemen when the suspects, on a van, were stranded in a traffic snarl at La Castellana, neighboring town of Hinigaran.

Media reports said a sixth man was seen in the company of the five arrested suspects just before the shooting incident.

For his part, Chief Insp. Lino Dalisay, Hinigaran Police chief, who led in the filing of murder charges, identified the five suspects as Michael Jancilan, 37, and Roger Garilba Someros, 36, of Iloilo; Vicente Poleros, 36, and Eduardo Montano,43, of Escalante City, and Openiano Dolar of Kabankalan City.

Dalisay said additional charges for illegal possession of firearms and explosives will also be filed against them.

Senior Supt. Milko Lirazan, Negros Occidental police director, said he got reports that not only five, but six, suspects were involved in the killing of De los Reyes. But the policemen from Hinigaran, Pontevedra, and La Castellana Police Stations, who pursued the fleeing suspects, insisted they arrested only five.

Lirazan said they have yet to find a witness to corroborate the claims of a sixth suspect. "We have no witnesses to support the allegations," he said, although he would neither confirm nor deny the allegations of a sixth man, which they have yet "to verify."

Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. on Tuesday ordered Lirazan to conduct a "deeper investigation" into the killing of De los Reyes. "I think that there is more to this initial story," he said.

Lirazan said on Monday he believed that an organized crime group was behind the killing of De los Reyes, which was could possibly be related to drugs also. The arrest of the five suspects yielded a cache of high-powered firearms and explosives, including a hand grenade, he added.

Marañon said the sixth man, who was able to escape, could be the key player in the crime. "I have a feeling that the one who escaped is the one with the higher rank among them," he said.  (FREEMAN)