MANILA, Philippines – There are a handful of possible reasons for the assassination of Mayor Ocol Talumpa of Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur.
“We’re looking at politics, drugs, blood feud. But these possible motives are all linked,” Southern Police District director Chief Superintendent Jose Erwin Villacorte said in a telephone interview Saturday, a day after Talumpa was gunned down gangland-fashion at Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Manila International Airport in Pasay City.
The Southern Police District is at the forefront of Task Group Ocol, investigating the murder. Talumpa, his wife Lea, and nephew Salipudin died of multiple gunshot wounds when their group was gunned down as they were preparing to leave the airport. Two other relatives were wounded in the attack.
Having just flown into Metro Manila, the group was waiting for a pickup vehicle at the driveway outside the arrival area, when two men on a motorcycle carried out the ambush.
A one-year-old baby, Philip Thomas Estoesta Lirazan, was also fatally hit in the spray of bullets. His mother Mary Ann and grandmother Amalia were also wounded. The family did not know the Talumpas and were also only waiting to be picked up by relatives who were stuck in traffic.
Though he declined to give details, Villacorte was firm that the police had “strong leads.”
“There will be major developments in the next few days,” he said.
He said members of his task force were coordinating with other local government units in the pursuit of the suspects.
Task group head Senior Supt. Billy Beltran said they were currently conducting background checks on Talumpa. “There have been previous attempts on his life. We’re considering that they all have the same suspects,” Beltran said.
Talumpa had survived a gun ambush in 2010 in Manila, and a grenade explosion in Mindanao last year.
Beltran said theories abound regarding Talumpa’s political rivalries, his staunch advocacy against illegal drugs, his possible involvement in “rido” or blood feuds.
Villacorte said there were reports a child of Talumpa’s political rival was killed a few months ago, but Beltran was quick to point out that the task group had yet to confirm the information.
Beltran said, however, that Talumpa was undeniably the target of the attack.
“This was planned out. You can see it in the timing. The perpetrators knew his schedule, like they’d been monitoring his travel from the province to Metro Manila.They were able to calculate their risks. They knew at that time that his security escorts’ guns were still deposited” with the police, Beltran said.
Earlier, Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group head Chief Supt. Christopher Laxa said Talumpa’s escorts were retrieving their guns from the police releasing booth near the driveway when the attack happened.
Meanwhile, Villacorte said they had yet to confirm that the perpetrators were wearing police uniforms, as described by some witnesses. “What they said was they only looked like police, with black jacket and pants. That uniform is easy to copy,” he said.
Beltran lamented they had no security camera footage of the shooting, and that only videos shot by bystanders after the incident had been recovered so far.
Asked his opinion about possible security lapses at the airport, Beltran replied, “Someone at higher headquarters is looking into it.”
Villacorte noted, however, that “nothing was lacking” since private guards were positioned a few meters from the driveway, there were roving airport police, plus augmentation from the police aviation security group. “So something went wrong there,” he added. “They should do something about it.”
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