INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA — One of the suspects in the killing of a policeman who was responding to a tip about a pot session in Pasay City, has been arrested in Batangas port, police officials said.
Randy Lizardo, 34, was arrested at the Batangas City port around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday while he was with live-in partner Gemma Piquillo and their 4-month-old child, waiting for a boat bound for Oriental
Mindoro province, said National Capital Region Police Office Director Oscar Albayalde.
Albayalde said that as of Thursday, police were still on a manhunt for Lizardo’s two other cohorts, whose identities he refused to disclose.
Lizardo was booked for inquest at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, where the NCR police were conducting a security briefing for the incoming Miss Universe pageant to be held by the end of January.
Albayalde said Lizardo would be charged with direct assault resulting in murder, frustrated murder and attempted murder for the Jan. 4 encounter, which killed PO1 Enrico Domingo and wounded PO2 Harley Garcera, both members of the Pasay City Police Special Operations Unit.
He is currently detained at the Pasay police station.
Domingo, Garcera and PO1 Tim Santos were responding to a tip that a pot session was being conducted by Lizardo and his group in a shanty on Pestañas Street, Barangay 69 around 5:30 p.m.
A police report submitted to the Pasay police chief, Senior Supt. Lawrence Coop, stated that when the three police officers located the shanty then being occupied by several persons including Lizardo, they met Piquillo.
As they were about to enter one of the rooms, the suspects started shooting them from behind a curtain that covered the entrance, hitting Domingo and Garcera.
Lizardo and his two other unidentified cohorts were able to escape through an opening at the roof of the shanty.
Lizardo, however, said in an interview he only fired at the police officers because they tried to arrest Piquillo and pointed their guns at his family.
“Kahit sinong amang nakitang nakatutok yung baril sa mag-ina mo, kahit ano magagawa mo (Any father who saw guns being pointed at his family would do anything to protect them),” he said.
The Southern Police District director, Chief Supt. Tomas Apolinario Jr., however, denied Lizardo’s claim, saying the police officers tested negative for gun powder residue and their service firearms were still tucked at their waist when they were shot.
When asked by the media, Lizardo admitted that they were indeed using illegal drugs before the shooting. Scene of the crime operatives recovered six sachets of methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu.
Barangay 69 Chair Arnel Diones said in a previous interview that Lizardo was not on the drug watch list but he made him surrender to the police in July for being a drug user.
Albayalde said Lizardo, known in the neighborhood as “Demonyo,” was already facing charges of murder, frustrated murder, attempted homicide, robbery-holdup, theft and illegal possession of a deadly weapon in Pasay courts for his previous crimes.
Lizardo said he continued using illegal drugs out of “habit.” SFM