The leader of a gun-for-hire gang involved in contract killings, among them allegedly ordered by local politicians, and his four companions were killed in a shootout with policemen in Cavite City in Cavite province, on Monday morning.
Supt. Giovanni Martinez, city police chief, said the firefight that broke out at 4 a.m. killed gang leader Airon Cruz and his live-in partner, Charlie Jean Dimapilis. Three other male cohorts, who police identified only by their aliases, were also killed.
Martinez said a team of seven policemen responded to a report of gun firing at Cruz’s home, a compound of two concrete and tiled structures that stood out in a poor seaside neighborhood in Barangay 30.
“As [the police] approached, they were immediately fired upon, forcing them to drop to the ground,” Martinez said in a telephone interview.
He said the police retaliated and killed the five suspects. Policemen also recovered two pistols and two hand grenades from Cruz’s house.
Reporter’s slay
It was not clear why Cruz was firing his gun but Martinez said that residents claimed it was typical of Cruz, who also used the aliases “Toyo” (deranged) or “Praning” (paranoid).
The police’s initial report, however, said that the clash happened as policemen were conducting “Oplan Galugad,” or a search in the communities for illegal firearms and wanted criminals.
Martinez said that they were in fact building up a case in order to rearrest Cruz, who was released from jail in September. “[Cruz] enjoyed connections in the police and with local politicians. Residents were frightened of him. He was a monster,” he said.
In 2014, Cruz, who was in his 30s, was arrested for the killing of Remate tabloid reporter Rubylita Garcia in Bacoor City, also in Cavite.
“He fitted the witness’ description, the height and all, except for the tattoo,” Martinez said of the 6-foot tall Cruz. The witness said the gunman sported star tattoos in the neck, while Cruz had a tattoo of a cross, paving the way for his release.
Martinez said that Cruz took over a gun-running syndicate previously led by Ronald “Onat” Francisco, a village captain in Cavite City, and Francisco’s brother, Rogelio, a policeman.
The “Onat Group,” Martinez added, was responsible for the killings in the city that happened “almost weekly” since 2012.
In 2015, the police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) arrested the Francisco brothers for illegal firearms but were eventually released. Ronald went into hiding after Rogelio, while on duty at the Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit town, was gunned down in 2016.
Cruz was again arrested by the CIDG on Sept. 14 for illegal firearms, but he was able to post bail.
On Sept. 16, a tricycle driver named “Ran-ran” was gunned down in Cavite City. Martinez said they arrested Ran-ran’s gunman and recovered from him a mobile phone with messages supposedly sent by Cruz.
“[Cruz], while in detention in Camp Crame, was giving [the gunman] instructions to kill Ran-ran because he believed Ran-ran ratted him out,” Martinez said.