Suspect in Pasay traffic aide’s slay known, thanks to receipts

Noel Lunas of the Pasay City Traffic Management Office died on the spot after being shot on Tuesday afternoon allegedly by Nashro Bagindulo, who fled on foot together with wife Norhinia, abandoning their vehicle. —Photos courtesy of Pasay police

The Pasay City police have identified the motorist who shot a Pasay traffic enforcer dead on Tuesday afternoon, based on receipts found in the van that the suspect and his wife abandoned after the crime.

Investigators have started looking for Nashro Bagindulo, a businessman residing in General Trias, Cavite province, for the killing of Noel Lunas of the Pasay City Traffic Management Office.

Bagindulo and his wife Norhinia Sema, who were then travelling in a silver Toyota Innova (UHG-311), fled on foot after the shooting.

The initial investigation showed that another traffic enforcer, Joey de Chavez, earlier tried to flag down Bagindulo for obstructing traffic at the corner of Edsa and Roxas Boulevard around 4:30 p.m. of March 22.

But instead of stopping for De Chavez, Bagindulo shouted that he was “a general’s nephew” and sped off toward the Edsa-F.B. Harrison area. Lunas, who saw what happened while on a motorbike nearby, chased the Innova.

The suspect drew a pistol and fired at Lunas near the Al Nur Mosque on Park Avenue, hitting him in the head, chest and armpit. The 46-year-old Lunas died on the spot.

Footage obtained by the police from a closed-circuit television camera in Barangay 77 showed the couple alighting from the van, with Bagindulo running toward Park Avenue Extension and Sema walking toward F.B. Harrison.

In an interview on Wednesday, SPO4 Allan Valdez, the investigator on the case, said receipts under Sema’s name were later found in the abandoned van and led the police to the couple’s residence at Bella Vista Subdivision, Barangay Santiago in General Trias.

However, Bagindulo and his wife were not home when members of Pasay and General Trias police, along with barangay officials, arrived around 10:45 p.m. Tuesday.

But the couple’s three children, all minors, positively identified the persons in the CCTV footage as their parents, saying they had not returned since leaving the house on Monday, Valdez said.

Valdez said the couple, who operated an RTW business in Baclaran, Parañaque City, remained at large at press time.

Nashro Bagindulo

Norhinia Sema