Slain trader had filed grave threat case

Despite a Commission on Elections-initiated gun ban in place for the May polls, the 62-year-old businessman killed in Sunday’s ambush on Edsa had been carrying a firearm when he was shot, the Eastern Police District (EPD) said.

Jose Luis Yulo’s decision to carry a .38-caliber revolver was even more peculiar given that he had come from a drag racing event in Angeles City, Pampanga province, lending credence to the idea that he anticipated a threat to his life, Senior Supt. Moises Villaceran said on Tuesday.

“Even licensed guns aren’t allowed under the Comelec gun ban. So why was he packing?” said Villaceran, the Mandaluyong City police chief. “There’s a reason behind it, perhaps a threat.”

The EPD, however, confirmed that Yulo had filed a case of grave threats before his death although probers were still checking who the respondent in the case was.

License check

At the same time, they were verifying with the Firearms and Explosives Division whether or not Yulo’s gun was licensed.

Villaceran told the Inquirer that Yulo had been charged with 14 cases of violation of BP No. 22, or the bouncing check law.

A check to determine the status of the cases, when they were filed, and who the complainants were, was underway.

Yulo was in charge of an extensive portfolio of businesses, including the distribution of firearms, the purchase and sale of automobiles, and real estate.

He and his companions, Allan Nomer Santos, 55, and Esmeralda Ignacio, 38, were in a white Toyota Hiace on Edsa’s southbound lane when two men on motorcycles ambushed them near Reliance Street, Mandaluyong City.

Only Ignacio survived.