2 policemen linked in killing disarmed

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — The policeman who was tagged in the slay of 5th district Board Member Renato Malabor and his bodyguard Leody Jomilla was disarmed after he reported for duty on Monday at the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office.

Police Officer 1 Robert Chloe Rito, who was on leave from June 22 to August 2, returned to work at the NOPPO where he was disarmed. He was relieved from his post at the Isabela police station of Isabela town, where Malabor and Jomilla were gunned down.

Senior Superintendent Samuel Nacion, acting NOPPO director, confirmed this matter on Rito, adding that PO1 Ariel Ansag was also relieved from his post at the Isabela Police and later disarmed when he reported to the NOPPO.

Ansag allegedly kept Rito’s wallet, which was recovered from the crime scene. The wallet was not found by the police probers and they did not know where it is now.

Nacion said NOPPO was still waiting for the resolution from the Office of the Prosecutor’s Office, where the two murder complaints were filed last week. Administrative charges against the policemen linked to the case will also be filed, he said.

Lawyer Nilo Sorbito, counsel of Rito, for his part said his client was surprised to be included in the case. In an interview with Aksyon Radyo, Sorbito wondered why witnesses were pointing to his client as the gunman of Malabor and Jomilla, saying that the policeman took a leave because the latter’s child was admitted to a hospital.

Sorbito said his client was in his house when Malabor and Jomilla were killed outside a cockpit at Barangay Guintubhan in Isabela on June 28. Rito did not even know about the shooting incident, even if his house was near the scene, because he was attending to his child, said the lawyer.

Sorbito said they are still waiting for the subpoena from the prosecutor before they will file a counter-affidavit.

Meanwhile, Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. said he did not believe Rito was a “fall guy” because many witnesses placed the policeman at the crime scene. The case is now in court and that arrest warrants will be issued soon, added the governor. (FREEMAN)