Rubout seen in death of 5 men in clash

TUGUEGARAO CITY—The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has not discounted the possibility of a rubout in the death of five armed men following a shootout with Cordillera and Cagayan Valley policemen in Lallo, Cagayan, on April 29.

Anton Cruz, CHR Cagayan Valley special investigator, said the car used by the group was riddled with bullet holes from guns fired from outside the vehicle. He said only one bullet hole was confirmed to have been caused by a gun fired from inside the car.

Killed in that clash were Isabelo Tayum, Leonardo Apolinario, Villamor Milagroso and Nomer Hontanos, all of Peñarrubia, Abra, and Michael Bermudez of Baguio City.

Cruz said CHR investigators had sought the permission of the men’s relatives to exhume their bodies and conduct another autopsy to determine if they were shot at close range.

Reports said the armed men were tailing a white van used by Cordillera and Cagayan Valley policemen. The policemen stopped to confront the suspects, who were aboard a Toyota sedan, but they were met with gunfire, the reports said.

The slain men, police said, were members of a gun-for-hire group out to kill at least two police officials, a retired Army general, a mayor, a prosecutor and a businessman.

In Baguio City, Cordillera police director Chief Supt. Benjamin Magalong said while the regional police have yet to receive a complaint, he recognized the  authority of the CHR to conduct an investigation.

“Rest assured that we will cooperate [with CHR]. Villamor Visaya Jr. and Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon