Slain trader was carrying illegal firearm issued to another man

While the businessman who was slain with his driver along Edsa on Sunday did not own the revolver found among his belongings, Jose Luis Yulo did have 31 other firearms registered under his name, the Eastern Police District (EPD) revealed on Thursday.

Of the 31 guns, 17 had expired licenses, according to the Philippine National Police Firearms and Explosives Division.

The .38-caliber revolver found in the Toyota Hiace the victims were riding in when they were ambushed was registered to Romeo de Jesus Jorge.

Gun’s registration revoked

Chief Supt. Bernabe Balba, EPD director, told reporters that the firearm’s registration was revoked in 2009.

It was still unclear whether the 62-year-old Yulo, who was a major distributor of gun accessories from abroad, still possessed all 31 firearms at the time of his death.

Balba, however, said that his family would be asked to surrender the unlicensed firearms he still owned.

Yulo and his driver, Allan Nomer Santos, 55, were on the southbound lane of Edsa around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday when unidentified motorcycle-riding suspects pulled up to their van and shot them.

Yulo’s companion, Esmeralda Ignacio, 38, survived despite severe wounds.

She was still being treated on Thursday at VRP Medical Center in Mandaluyong City, which is located in front of the area of the shooting.

Police issues clarification

The police also clarified that it was Yulo who had been charged with grave threats by a woman in 1985. They earlier said that it was the businessman who had filed the grave threats complaint.

Yulo was also facing 14 cases of violating BP No. 22, or the bouncing check law.

Members of Special Investigation Task Group “Yulo” have begun reviewing closed-circuit television camera footage they collected that “might be able to shed light on what really transpired” and to ferret out the perpetrators’ identities.

Balba said that a ballistics procedure conducted by the EPD Crime Laboratory found that the empty shells recovered from the crime scene had all come from a single .45-caliber firearm.

Cross-matching tests would be done to determine if the gun had been used in other crimes, he added.

The police earlier said that they were looking into Yulo’s business dealings as a possible motive for his killing.