By JIGGER J. JERUSALEM
Correspondent
THE suspect arrested in connection with the Monday night shootout in Libertad, Misamis Oriental, has confessed to planning a robbery along with his group.
The suspect, identified by the police as Richardson Perez but who introduced himself to reporters as “Richard Manda” of Cebu, said he arrived in Cagayan de Oro eight days ago.
A friend, he said, called him up and asked him to come over.
Perez said he stayed at a house owned by a doctor in Barra, Opol.
Before the shootout in Libertad, the suspect said, he and his group were on the way to Tubod, Lanao del Norte.
Perez said he was unaware of where the firearms his group had come from, but he admitted that they were planning on staging a robbery. He declined to give details.
Police yesterday pressed murder, frustrated murder, illegal firearms and explosives possession and illegal drug possession against Perez and others involved in the shootout that killed an officer manning a checkpoint and the driver of the armed group’s white Mitsubishi Mirage car. Another officer and a female bystander were wounded.
Perez was arrested under the bridge where he jumped off while trying to evade arrest. As a result, the suspect’s leg was fractured.
Perez said he jumped off the bridge because he panicked after hearing gunshots.
Lt. Col. Mardy Hortillosa, Camp Alagar spokesman, said police were able to identify the car’s owner.
Authorities said they were still investigating and trying to determine the group’s exact plans.
Col. Roy Bahian, Misamis Oriental’s police chief, said authorities were also trying to find out if the group was involved in gunrunning, drug trafficking or even gun-for-hire activities given the kind of evidence that the police found.
Police found machine pistols, caliber .45 pistols, grenades in the car. Perez’s companion, who was killed in the shootout, allegedly had sachets of suspected shabu with him.
Investigators said five men were on board the Iligan-bound car that was flagged down by the police officers along the highway in Barangay Poblacion, Libertad town past 8 pm Monday.
Police said the suspects inside the car fired at the officers resulting in the killing of S/Sgt. Ronald Caayupan. Wounded was Chief M/Sgt. Fernando Maestrado and a female bystander.
Also killed was Jephone Tinamisan from Ozamiz City, and said to be the vehicle’s driver.
Police found four caliber .45 pistols, two pieces KG 9 semi-automatic firearms, a 9mm pistol, four grenades, and five packets of suspected shabu.
Bahian said they are in the possession of cellphones retrieved from the crime scene.
Meanwhile, Hortillosa said pursuit operations have continued against the three suspects who managed to escape.
Hortillosa said Brig. Gen. Rolando Anduyan, regional police director, directed officers from nearby towns to help in the manhunt.
He said a team from Cagayan de Oro City Police Office’s Special Weapons and Tactics was also deployed to assist in the search efforts.
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