7 charged in ambush of ex-Pangasinan gov, aides

Amado Espino Jr. INQUIRER PHOTO

SAN CARLOS CITY, Pangasinan, Philippines — The city prosecutor here has found probable cause to charge seven people with murder, frustrated murder and attempted murder in connection with the ambush of former Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino Jr. and his two aides on Sept. 11 last year.

Espino and his aides were on a two-car convoy when gunmen opened fire at them. Espino was wounded but his police escort, Staff Sgt. Richard Esguerra, and driver, Agapito Cuizon, were killed.

In a 23-page resolution, City Prosecutor Glen Lumanlan indicted Albert Palisoc, Benjie Resultan, John Paul Regalado and four unidentified suspects for two counts of murder.

The seven suspects were also charged with frustrated murder and three counts of attempted murder in connection with the cases filed by Espino and his three other aides who survived the ambush.

Circumstantial evidence

Except for Regalado, the suspects are known members of a gun-for-hire syndicate, police said.

Lumanlan filed the cases despite his admission that these were solely based on circumstantial evidence, including security camera footage that captured the suspects near the crime scene.

Cuizon still managed to drive the vehicle carrying Espino to the hospital about 200 meters away. Cuizon died later while being treated for bullet wounds.

Investigators recovered a Ford Everest and a Hyundai Elantra that were reportedly used by the suspects. Found inside the vehicles were two M14 rifles and a customized M16 rifle, a hand grenade and bullets, jackets and ski masks.

Impossible to identifyIn the resolution issued on Jan. 3, Lumanlan said while it was “undisputed that there were several eyewitnesses to the shooting incident aside from the complainants, not one of them (witnesses) was able to positively identify any of the suspects.”

The prosecution cited witnesses who said the gunmen wore face masks and caps, which “made it nearly impossible to identify the assailants.”

”The description of the gunmen’s clothing does not help either considering that it appears from the evidence that after the shooting, they changed clothes since several pieces of garments were recovered from the abandoned vehicles,” the resolution said.

Car owner cleared

But the prosecution said it still found “sufficient probable cause” to indict the suspects based on circumstantial evidence.

Lumanlan dismissed the case against Jewel Castro, who was suspected to be the owner of Hyundai Elantra, saying he could not be implicated as he never had physical possession of the car.

Instead, the prosecutor filed a case against Pediraldo Ras Lucenera for “obstruction of apprehension and prosecution of criminal offenders by giving false information” that he delivered the car to Castro.