Cops file murder raps vs 5 for death of fair trade exec

ILOILO CITY—Police on Friday filed a murder complaint against five people in connection with the killing of fair trade center head Romeo Capalla two weeks ago.

Julie Cabino, 30, of Leon town, Iloilo province, along with four other unidentified persons, was named in the complaint filed by the Special Investigation Task Group Capalla, a multiunit investigating body of the Philippine National Police, in the provincial prosecutor’s office here.

The police, however, had yet to establish the motive for the March 15 killing. “The investigation is still ongoing and so far, we have only come up with the identity of one of the gunmen,” said Chief Inspector Joseph Euje Almaquer, spokesperson for the provincial police.

Capalla, 65, was gunned down by at least two men in front of the public market of Oton town in Iloilo while he was helping his 90-year-old mother-in-law board his sport utility vehicle. He died from bullet wounds in the head before reaching Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City.

The victim, a younger brother of Davao Archbishop Emeritus Fernando Capalla, was chair of the board of directors of Panay Fair Trade Center (PFTC) and its general manager for more than 12 years. PFTC helps farmers produce organic products, especially muscovado sugar and bananas, and export these to Europe and other countries in Asia.

Citing accounts of witnesses, Alamaquer said Cabino aimed his gun at Capalla but it failed to fire. Another shot Capalla in the head.

At least four others believed to be lookouts fled with the assailants on motorcycles.

Cabino was arrested in 2011 on charges of attempting to kill a resident in Tigbauan town, also in Iloilo. The case, however, was settled by the parties involved, according to Almaquer. Nestor P. Burgos Jr., Inquirer Visayas