MABALACAT CITY – Despite the pronouncement of the police that a suspect has been arrested in the ambush-slaying of Mesalipit, Bacolor Barangay Captain Rodrigo L. Tongol and his two aides, doubts have remained high.
Skeptics said the P600,000 reward money put up for the speedy resolution of the case has complicated instead of helping resolve the crime.
It can be recalled that an initial P100,000 was put up by Vice Gov. Dennis G. Pineda as reward money for the arrest of the suspects. Shortly after, Bacolor Mayor Jomar O. Hizon announced he was putting up P500,000 more for the resolution of the case.
Hizon has doubted the police version of the crime. He said Tongol was loved by his barriomates and has no known enemies. The mayor said Tongol was one of his closest supporters and delivered a 10-0 victory for his team in the recent polls.
Barangay Mesalipit, which straddles the boundaries of the towns of Sto. Tomas, Minalin and Bacolor, is one of three barangays which delivered a 10-0 victory for Hizon. Barangays Duat and Cabalantian are the two others.
Police version
City Police Director, Supt. Ferdinand Perez, said two witnesses positively identified Alvin M. Sigua as the gunman in the August 3 ambush-slaying of Tongol and Pedro S. Canlas and Merlito N. Pineda, both former barangay kagawads of Mesalipit, in Barangay Bundagul here while on their way home to the Madapdap Resettlement Center from Bacolor town.
Madapdap Resettlement is where most Bacoloreños were relocated after the lahar devastation of Bacolor in 1995.
Perez identified Sigua as the suspect during his presentation at the command conference of the Pampanga police by Provincial Police Director Sr. Supt. Oscar Albayalde and presided by Gov. Lilia “Nanay Baby” Pineda and Vice Gov. Pineda at Bacolor’s King’s Royale Hotel last Thursday.
Perez said Sigua was riding in-tandem behind the driver of the motorcycle who blocked the victims’ service vehicle while it slowed down to negotiate a road hump. He said only the driver of the motorcycle, who remained at large and unidentified as of press time, was wearing a motorcycle helmet.
Perez said Sigua was positively identified by two witnesses who were on board a tricycle travelling west bound along the Ninoy Aquino Highway in Barangay Bundagul here when they chanced upon the incident.
He said the two witnesses, whom he said are contractors, are familiar with Sigua since the suspect used to reside in Madapdap Resettlement where they also live until the suspect fled after shooting to death his drinking buddy who was a former army officer.
Perez said Sigua did not resist when he was served a standing warrant of arrest for violation of RA 9165 or violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and for illegal possession of ammunition. Sigua was arrested in Barangay Santa Barbara, Bacolor with his live-in partner identified as Raquel Mendoza who also has a standing warrant of arrest for drug pushing.
Sigua and Mendoza are now detained at the police station in Barangay Poblacion here, said Perez.
Perez said Sigua was also responsible for the killing of Chief Insp. Manuel Chika who was ambushed in Barangay Mawaque here in March 2010. Perez said Chika was responsible for building an illegal drugs case against Sigua.
Witnesses’ version
There were seven persons inside the yellow multi-cab service vehicle of Tongol during the ambush, Hizon said.
Four survived the hail of bullets in the ambush including Tongol’s wife and their two children and his brother.
The four survivors, who are vital witnesses in the ambush-slaying, contradicted the police’s version, said Hizon.
According to Hizon, the witnesses told him that the gunmen were wearing bonnets. They said they ducked for cover as soon as they heard gunfire , he said.
But when the gunfire subsided, Hizon said the witnesses managed to get a glimpse of the gunmen who were wearing bonnets and even raise their guns as they fled. ”Maka bonnet la, tinas do pa kanu deng baril da (They wore bonnets, they even raised their guns),” Hizon quoted the witnesses as saying.
The police said only the driver was wearing a crash helmet and not the gunman.
Hizon’s bodyguard
Hizon said the father of Alvin Sigua, the alleged suspect, was his bodyguard. The mayor identified him as Salvador “Dok” Sigua. Hizon said he even helped find a job for Sigua’s son at the Bacolor Public Market after he was asked by his bodyguard.
“How can these people be behind the ambush when they are close to me and their patriarch is my bodyguard?” Hizon said this only proves that the police got the wrong man.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that Cabalantian Barangay Captain Blady Villanueva and Duat Barangay Captain Ener C. Lampa are now in hiding.
Hizon has enjoined his barangay captains to be extra vigilant to prevent a similar attack.
