2 dead in rampage in DoJ safe house

ZAMBOANGA CITY—A police officer and a witness in a kidnapping  were killed, while another witness is now fighting for his life after another policeman attacked them in a house where the Department of Justice (DoJ)was supposedly protecting state witnesses.

Senior Supt. Edwin de Ocampo, acting city police chief, identified the slain policeman as P01 Tomas Dauba, and the slain witness as Marvin Agullana. The wounded witness is in critical condition in a hospital here. His identity was withheld for security reasons.

Dauba was assigned to protect the witnesses.

Quoting investigators, De Ocampo said the two witnesses were in their safe house preparing for a court hearing, when P03 Carmelito Macansantos, a member of the city police assigned to the DoJ Western Mindanao office, arrived on board a motorcycle.

De Ocampo, quoting an investigators’ report, said PO3 Macansantos approached PO1 Dauba shouting invectives at PO1 Dauba. Dauba was prepared to defend himself but Macansantos “had already drawn his pistol,” De Ocampo said.

Macansantos shot Dauba several times, and shot the two witnesses as well, the acting police chief said.

Macansantos, according to De Ocampo, fled but sent surrender feelers. De Ocampo said police are now conducting an investigation.

Ricardo Cabaron, chief city prosecutor, declined to issue any statement on the attack.

He said he would wait for the results of the police probe.

Agullana and the wounded witness were placed under the Witness Protection Program of the DoJ in connection with a case filed against several suspects in the kidnapping of a businessman, Eliseo Hablo, owner of a franchise of Julie’s Bakeshop in this city, in January, 2009.

Hablo was freed in a rescue operation by authorities, and several suspects were arrested.

Arrested were lawyer Hasam Alam, former president of the Zamboanga Barter Trader’s Kilusang Bayan Inc.; policemen PO3 Alwin Abdua and PO1 Marcial Lim, of the city police; a certain Satarnino Garcia, of Zindangan, Zamboanga del Norte; a certain Hermon Endong, of R.T. Lim town in Zamboanga Sibugay and resident of Southcom Village here; Joel Peña, of Pasonanca here; Joel Gonzales, of Southcom Village and Grace Alam, Hasam Alam’s wife.