Gun used in shooting, suicide not licensed

POLICE said the firearm used by a Maltese national in shooting dead  Cebu  fashion designer Joy Bernaldez and himself last Dec. 17 was unlicensed.

Supt. Rex Derilo, chief of the Firearms and Explosives, Security Agencies and Guards Supervisory Section (FESAGSS), said Joseph Cardona is not on the list of licensed/registered firearm holders.

He said the serial number on the  .32 caliber revolver (not .22 as earlier reported), was not in their databank of licensed guns.

The gun was reportedly obtained from a foreign national who lives in north Cebu said police based on sources close to the Bernaldez family. Insp. Ramil Morpos, deputy chief of the investigation branch of the  Mandaue City Police Office, said  their investigation won’t end there.

Morpos said they have the alleged gun owner’s address and will invite him for questioning.

At this stage it’s difficult to file charges wtihout a witness who can testify about the gun being given to Cardona, he said.

Cardona shot dead  the fashion designer at her home in Mandaue City past 6 p.m. Saturday before turning the gun on himself.

The couple was on the verge of a breakup. Earlier in the morning,  Bernaldez had his clothes and belongings moved out of the house. Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos

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