Video by Noy Morcoso lll/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—The gun-for-hire ring behind the killing of a ranking Quezon City policeman was also responsible for the murder of two mediamen, a city councilor and another police inspector.
The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) announced on Thursday the arrest of the alleged gunmen in the ambush of Chief Inspector Roderick Medrano last Monday at the corner of Zabate Road and San Diego Drive in Barangay (village) Kaligayahan, Quezon City.
Chief Superintendent Richard Albano, QCPD chief, said in a press briefing that the suspects were inspectors and a collector of the Commonwealth Public Market who moonlighted as gun-for-hire syndicate members.
Arrested were market inspectors Clemente Bersoza, 49, and Larry Consolation, 42, collector Joean Marco, 41 and Rodener Necesito, 39.
The alleged gunmen in the ambush of Chief Inspector Roderick Medrano: (L-R) Rodener Necesito, Larry Consolation, Clemente Bersoza, and Joean Marco. NOY MORCOSO/INQUIRER.net
Police, however, have not arrested yet the alleged mastermind who hired the gunmen to kill Medrano, a policeman of 15 years, while driving his two sons to school with his wife.
But Albano disclosed that the syndicate members have standing arrest warrants for the killing of newspaper columnists Bonifacio Loreto Jr. and Richard Kho, who were shot dead in Barangay (village) Commonwealth on July 30, 2014.
Police also said that the arrested gunmen also allegedly killed Police Inspector Rodelio Dionco in Batasan Hills village last June 8 and Councilor Roberto Maraño in Payatas A on June 15, 2012.
Chief Inspector Rodelio Marcelo, QCPD Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) chief, said in the briefing that it was likely that the motive was work-related.
But in an ambush interview, Albano said while the mastermind remains at large, they cannot conclude yet whether the motive was personal or linked to his duty as a policeman.
Like in the movies
Copies of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) obtained by the police from several establishments showed that Medrano almost hit one of the gunmen as he tried to dodge the gunshots.
”Kung mapapanood niyo yung mga CCTV, kung papaano sila gumalaw, kung titignan mo para kang nanonood ng pelikula kung paano pinatay yung kasama naming si Major Medrano eh,” Marcelo said.
Medrano’s family survived the ambush. He was taken to Bernardino General Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival at 8:15 a.m. Recovered from the scene were 21 casings taken from a 9-mm gun.
The arrest
At around 1:15 a.m. on Wednesday, police were tipped off of a sighting of a motorcycle bearing no license plate along Central Avenue in Quezon City.
This led to the discovery of the Tamaraw FX parked at Commonwealth Market. There the police saw Bersoza at the entrance of the market with a handgun tucked in his waistband.
He resisted the arrest and tried to flee but was eventually arrested by police officers.
Meanwhile, Marco was seen hiding near a stairway and was arrested after he was caught with a handgun.
Near the parked Tamaraw FX, police saw Consolacion and Necesito. The two escaped but the police later subdued them.
Seized from the suspects were a hand grenade, a loaded .30 caliber US carbine MW, two. 45 caliber pistols, a .38 caliber revolver, four mobile phones and three units of handheld radio.
Cases for violation illegal possession of firearms and ammunition and illegal possession of explosives, murder and two counts of attempted murder are being prepared against the suspects.
They are currently under the custody of the QCPD CIDU at Camp Karingal.
RELATED STORIES
Alleged perpetrators in Medrano ambush arrested—PNP
QCPD task force probes slay of ‘humble’ comrade