3 cops, 2 civilians slapped with kidnapping, murder raps

THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Tuesday filed before the Las Piñas Prosecutors Office kidnapping and murder complaints against three police officers and two civilians tagged in the killing of businesswoman Adora M. Lazatin on April 5.

The suspects were identified as Police Inspector Elgie Jacobe y Dela Cruz, Police Officer1 Mark Jay De Los Santos y Ferrer, PO1 Edmon Gonzales y Calma and civilians Domingo Balanquit and Empire Salas.

The NBI acted on the case following a complaint filed by Ryan Lazatin regarding the disappearance of his 56-year-old mother Adora and the suspicious withdrawals from her ATM account.

In the follow-up investigation, agents coordinated with the bank where withdrawals were made. The CCTV footage showed an unidentified male making withdrawals from the same ATM account. After surveillance, investigators discovered a pattern of withdrawals.

The man who made several withdrawals was dubbed as “Spiderman” for his guise. He also wore a baseball cap, a spray mask and short pants. NBI agents said he appeared to be one and the same person wearing exactly the same outfit every time a withdrawal was made. He was being transported in a black car. Since April 5, the withdrawals were made daily between 12:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. and each day the withdrawn money reached P50,000, the maximum ATM withdrawal limit per day.

“Nag-deploy kami ng maraming tao para abangan yung suspect sa ATM at hindi kasi sila nagbago ng kanilang routine, ganung oras pa rin at the same path sila nagwi-withdraw so nakaabang lang yung mga tao dun,” explained, Atty. Medardo G. de Lemos, Assistant Director of NBI, making it easier for them to track the suspects.

(We deployed our men to keep track of them. The suspects did not change their routine, the same time, the same path where they were actually withdrawing.)

On April 10, the NBI operatives arrested De Los Santos and Jacobe.

Found in his possession was the BDO ATM card of the victim, withdrawal slips and cash worth P200,000, a PNP issued 9 mm Glock pistol. Two cell phones, later verified as belonging to Lazatin and a .45 cal. Norinco pistol were recovered from Jacobe.

Jacobe had two other criminal and administrative cases while Gonzales was also involved in a criminal case and an administrative case. The two admitted to their crimes and pointed out three other of their cohorts, which led to the arrest of PO1 Edmon Gonzales, Domingo Balanquit, and Empire Salas.

Director Joel D. Pagdilao, NCRPO Chief emphasized: “We do not tolerate the wrongdoings of our personnel. They don’t have any place in our good organization whatsoever.”

He also urged the people to report any wrongdoings of  police personnel.

“The individual actions of these personnel do not represent the vision and aspiration of our organization. There are policemen who risk and offer their lives to ensure the safety and security of the public. We assure you that justice will be served,” Pagdilao said.

The suspects are currently under the NBI’s custody.

The PNP will look into for further investigation and if the case was drug related. Gwen Stephanie B. Calabucal, Inquirer.net trainee