2 cops charged with vendor’s killing relieved

Two Quezon City policemen were relieved of their posts on Saturday following the filing of a murder case against them for the death of a street vendor.

PO3 Allan Formilleza, 40, and PO2 Clifford Fagsao, 32, were ordered transferred from the Batasan police station to the Quezon City Police District headquarters.

Their former commander, Batasan police station head Supt. Eleazar Matta, said both had already surrendered their service firearms to him.

Aside from the murder charge, the two are also facing administrative cases for grave misconduct over the death of Ramil Atibagos, a 34-year-old vendor, earlier this month.

Should they be found guilty of grave misconduct, the two policemen would be dismissed from the service.

Complaint

Case investigator PO1 Julius Raz said that in July, Atibagos filed a complaint against the suspects for robbery, illegal arrest, physical injury, grave threats and violation of domicile.

On Sept. 7, the victim was gunned down at 10:42 a.m. near the footbridge at the corner of Commonwealth and Luzon Avenues by two men on a motorcycle.

In a sworn statement, Atibagos’ brother Randy said he was just four yards away when his younger brother was shot by Fagsao.

He added that his brother tried to run toward a nearby hardware store but the gunman followed him and shot him again.

Randy said he was able to recognize the motorcycle-riding men as the two law enforcers.

Distress call

The police learned that Atibagos and his wife earlier sued the suspects for robbery, illegal arrest, grave threats, physical injury and physical injury.

This was after the two suspects and other policemen barged into the victim’s house on July 22 while responding to a distress call made by Atibagos’s half-brother.

The victim accused the policemen of poking their guns at him and his family, handcuffing him and beating him up.

Atibagos also alleged that the two suspects took their cell phones.

According to Randy, Fagsao threatened his brother at one point if he did not withdraw the cases he had filed against him and Formilleza.