Suspect in cops’ shooting surrenders

CEBU, Philippines - A man who was tagged as suspect in the fatal shooting of two Moalboal cops during a drug raid Friday surrendered to the police around 1 a.m. yesterday to clear his name.

Accompanied by Sambag 1 councilman Aurelio Jagmoc Jr., the suspect, Ezrael Ocariza, 28, of Pob-lacion, Alcantara went to the Fuente Police Station and told investigators he had nothing to do with the killing of PO3 Fabio Fernandez and PO1 Alrasid Jimlani.

Ocariza said he went to the area to buy drugs reportedly for personal use but had already left before the shooting. He even reportedly ran away when he heard the gunshots.

From the Fuente Police, Ocariza was brought to the Regional Intelligence Division for custodial investigation and was brought subsequently to the Moalboal Police Station where he remains behind bars.

Inspector Edgar Labe, Moalboal Police Station chief, told The Freeman that Ocariza surrendered because of reports he was seen at the crime scene. Authorities also recovered his motorcycle near the crime scene.

“Wa niangkon nang ni-surrender. Didto lang siya kay naa siyay tuyo… atong pagbuto-buto, nilakaw na siya,” Labe said.

Investigators found out that the motorcycle belongs to a security guard of a mall in Moalboal and was only lent to Ocariza.

A massive manhunt is now in place to arrest the four men who managed to escape following the shooting. Aside from the Moalboal Police, elements of the provincial Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), Provincial Public Safety Company (PPSC), and Provincial Intelligence Branch have also been deployed.

Labe said that because Ocariza is a suspect, he will remain under police custody while investigation is ongoing.

Exemption

While rules dictate that items seized during a drugs operation must be inventoried at the area where they were recovered, former Dangerous Drugs Board undersecretary Paul Oaminal was quoted as saying that threat to the safety of the police officers can be an exemption.

Oaminal, executive director of the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC) in Cebu City, said inventory may be conducted at the police station nearest to the area raided if the situation warrants, such as if the neighbors of the persons arrested display rude behavior or chaos ensues.

The issue on inventory surfaced after concerns were raised that the incident may have been avoided if the cops inventoried the items at the police station. Fernandez and Jimlani were reportedly conducting inventory at the site when the suspects arrived in motorcycles and shot them dead.

Jimlani was laid to rest yesterday afternoon at the Moalboal Public Cemetery. Meanwhile, Fernandez’ family brought the cop’s remains to Danao City. Fernandez was set to retire from service next year.

The two intelligence operatives and other members of the Moalboal Police went to Barangay Tomonoy at around 7 p.m. Friday to implement a search warrant at the house of a certain Michael Aquino, a suspected drug den. Aquino, however, escaped when he sensed the presence of the policemen. — /JMO (FREEMAN)