Iligan City representative Vicente Belmonte Jr. Photo from congress.gov.ph
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Police authorities in Misamis Oriental arrested a man, who had a wound in the thigh, on suspicion of being involved in the Dec. 11 ambush on Iligan City Rep. Vicente Belmonte Jr., only to free him later.
Senior Supt. Leonilo Cabug, Misamis Oriental police director, said the second suspect was released from the custody of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group because he turned to be mentally ill.
But Cabug defended the arrest of the man, identified as Tata Dokumento of Iligan City, saying he was acting suspiciously when accosted by soldiers under the 58th Infantry Battalion in an area between Tubahon and Mauswagon villages in Laguindingan town on Monday.
The two villages were also near the Laguindingan airport.
Dokumento, he said, failed to answer questions when soldiers asked him what he was doing in the area. Residents of the two villages also said they had never seen him before in the area.
Dokumento also had a wound in the thigh, which further fueled suspicions, he said.
After a series of questioning by CIDG operatives, Dokumento was released because he was mentally ill, Cabug added.
In the case of suspect Dominador Tumala, Cabug said the police had filed multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder complaints against him before the prosecutor’s office last Friday.
He said the police believed that it had a strong case against Tumala, 60, and a resident of Osmeña town in Zamboanga del Norte.
Tumala was arrested as he wandered near the airport on Friday.
When he was presented to the media here by authorities on Saturday, the suspect had denied any participation in the Belmonte ambush and said he was on his way to the airport when the attack took place.
He said fearful for his safety, he decided not to proceed to the airport – where he was to fetch his sister, Lilia.
“It was my first time to be here and the ambush happened. Out of fear, I hid at the airport,” he said in the vernacular.
It was only after things cleared that he allegedly set out and tried to seek barangay (village) officials for help but he got arrested instead.
“I was wandering looking for food. I didn’t know Congressman Belmonte,” he said.
Tumala admitted that he was once a militiaman in Osmeña town but he said he has been working as a vendor lately.
Exactly a week after Belmonte was ambushed, the police had not released any statement on what the motive was.