Police form task group to probe killing of Malabon City councilor

THE Northern Police District (NPD), in coordination with the Malabon City police, has created a special investigation task group to catch the people behind the killing of Councilor Merlin “Tiger” Mañalac outside his house in Barangay Tinajeros last week.

Mañalac, 45, who was seeking reelection in May, had just left his house on Perlas Street and was about to get into his vehicle on his way to a political meeting when he was shot dead by motorcycle-riding men around 4 p.m. Saturday.

According to NPD director Chief Supt. Eric Reyes, the task group will be composed of Malabon policemen and NPD district division heads who will meet once a week to discuss the progress on the case.

On Saturday, Mayor Antolin Oreta III also announced he would give a P200,000 reward for any information leading to the identification and arrest of Mañalac’s killers.

Reyes said that a closed circuit television (CCTV) camera caught two of the suspects on a motorcycle fleeing after gunning down the councilor. However, the footage, which showed one of the suspects almost falling off the motorcycle as it sped off, would be enhanced by the NPD’s CCTV Anti-Cyber Crime Division, he added.

Four witnesses have also come forward and given their descriptions of the suspects to the police—information which can be used in creating sketches of the gunmen.

Senior Supt. Severino Abad Jr., Malabon police chief, meanwhile, said that they were still validating claims about the involvement of the leftist group, Partisano-Armadong Operatiba ng Partido Marxista-Leninista ng Pilipinas, in the killing.

According to SPO4 Ferdinand Espiritu, the head of the police investigation unit, they found at the crime scene leaflets stating that the group killed Mañalac to avenge the alleged murder of New People’s Army member Peter Villaseñor in 2010.

“We are looking at all possible angles, including politics, in our investigation. Rest assured that we will promptly inform the public about the results of our investigation,” Reyes said.