Ex-Pasig cop slain after case hearing

A dismissed Pasig City policeman allegedly involved in illegal drugs and armed robbery was shot dead in broad daylight in front of Pasig Cathedral on Thursday morning.

A witness said six men on three motorbikes ambushed former SPO1 Rolando Baltazar, who had just come from the Pasig Regional Trial Court and was also on a motorcycle bike when shot seven times on Caruncho Avenue near the corner of MH del Pilar, Barangay San Nicolas, around 10:35 a.m.

Several empty shells of .45-caliber and 9-mm rounds were recovered at the scene. A report from the Eastern Police District (EPD) said Baltazar, 44, was arrested on July 9 in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Caniogan where he was caught with 84 grams of “shabu.”

The complaint against him, however, was set for further investigation and prosecutors Nonalyn Tagalicud and George dela Joya approved his release on July 11.

An hour before Thursday’s attack, Baltazar attended a preliminary investigation on the complaint.

According to the EPD public information office, Baltazar was dismissed from the service in 2004 for alleged involvement in illegal drugs.

In 2014, he and seven others were arrested based on a warrant issued by Judge Danilo Cruz of Pasig RTC Branch 152, where they were facing charges for robbery. Baltazar was being linked to the “Gapos Gang Spider Group,” a robbery gang targeting homes and leaving their occupants hogtied.