THE Central Visayas police director denied there was an attempt to kill Tejero, Cebu City Barangay Councilor Jessielou Cadungog yesterday morning.
Chief Supt. Debold Sinas said there was no ambush and, instead, tagged the village official as the man responsible for the death of PO3 Eugene Alcuin Calumba, who will receive police honors and whose family will receive benefits.
"Actually, si Cadungog wala gipusil. Siya ang gapusil (Cadungog was not shot. He did the shooting)," Sinas told reporters.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña found that claim ridiculous. (See related story, A4.)
When asked if he can assure the public that the police are not involved in extra-judicial killings (EJK) in Cebu, Sinas said: "What EJK are you talking about? Ang tao namo gipusil, tapos EJK (Our officer died and yet it's considered an EJK)?"
Surveillance, PNP says
Before the shooting happened around 8:30 a.m., Sinas was told by Parian Police Station Chief Kenneth Paul Albotra that Calumba had been asked to conduct surveillance on the illegal drug trade in Barangay Tejero.
Calumba worked with the Parian Police Station's Drug Enforcement Unit operative. At the time he was shot, he was riding a black motorcycle driven by Michael Moreno Banua, a Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT) member from Negros Oriental.
A portion of Tejero where Calumba worked was still part of Parian Police Station's jurisdiction, Sinas said.
Banua told the police that he failed to see if Calumba managed to fire back, while he ran for cover. But when he went back to try to rescue Calumba, he alleged, a group led by Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak arrested him.
'Dumpit used his gun'
The police's lone witness saw that Calumba was shot first, Sinas said. He also accused Councilor Tumulak of punching Banua, which the city official denied.
When asked what could have motivated the shooting of Calumba, Sinas said: "Kinahanglan ko pa ba i-spell out 'to? (Do I have to spell it out?) You know who is Jessilou Cadungog. He is the one who provided the gun of the late SPO1 Adonis Dumpit."
Dumpit was killed in alleged shootout with operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation-Bohol and Regional Intelligence Division in Tagbilaran City last June.
"Kon mali mi, kon among tawo ang nag-ambush, we will accept it. As of now, wala mi miingon ana (If it was an ambush by a policeman, we will accept it. But we are not saying that's what happened)," Sinas said.
This is the police's version of the events: At the corner of S. Osmeña Jr. Blvd. and Alviola St., Banua stopped for a red light.
When the traffic started moving again, Banua tried to speed off ahead of a red car that turned out to be Cadungog's to return to the Parian Police Station. That, said Sinas, was when Calumba was shot.
The police official invited Councilor Tumulak, deputy mayor on police matters, to explain why he kept evidence from the crime scene. These included identification cards that showed Banua was a volunteer who supplied information to the police.
"He was not authorized to do so," Sinas said, adding that the police may file an obstruction of justice complaint against Tumulak.
Citizen's arrest
The councilor, however, said what he did was a citizen's arrest.
Tumulak, who was among the first to arrive in the area, said that he saw two bullet holes in the windshield of Cadungog's red Toyota FJ Cruiser.
"When we ran to the gasoline station, we saw one of them bloodied on the ground. I also took custody of the driver of the motorcycle and told the residents in the area not to harm him because he was the only witness," Tumulak said.
The city councilor said that he secured Banua after residents in the area who saw the shooting pointed to him as the driver of the motorcycle.
"I implemented a citizen's arrest and when I saw him bloodied, I rushed him to the hospital. The chief of the Waterfront Police Station then took custody of him," Tumulak said.
He said that Cadungog would have wanted the National Bureau of Investigation to take custody of Banua, but Senior Insp. Joemar Pomarejos, Waterfront Police Station chief, transferred Banua to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 7.
Tumulak said he tried to turn over Banua's wallet, ID cards and ammunition for a .45 pistol to the CIDG chief, Hector Amancia, "but he wasn't here."
Bar codes on arms
"When I tried to give it to police officers in the conference room in the Cebu City Police Office, they also refused to accept it," Tumulak said.
Sinas said that there were reports that Tumulak beat up Banua. Tumulak denied the allegation.
"Unsa'y kulata? Nabuang sila? Ako na hinuoy nangulata nga ako'y nagda sa hospital? (Are they crazy? I took him to the hospital and now they're saying I beat him up?)" Tumulak said.
He also wondered what the barco des tattooed on the left arm of the slain policeman and of Banua meant.
"If I were the police, I would conduct a thorough investigation and not merely (rely on) speculations," Tumulak said.
