ALARMING WAVE OF VIOLENCE: SOLON BATS FOR STRICTER GUN CONTROL
[PHOTO - Lawyer Oliver Lozano stands beside the casket of his son Emerson at the St. Peter funeral chapel in Quezon City yesterday. Inset shows Emerson's wife Weng and son Paulo. PORAC, Pampanga, BOY SANTOS]
MANILA, JANUARY 19, 2011 (BULLETIN) By AARON B. RECUENCO and HANNAH L. TORREGOZAJ – The tragic fate that befell the son of lawyer Oliver Lozano could be a new modus operandi by one criminal group following the discovery in Cabanatuan City of another burned cadaver believed to be that of a missing son of a car trader.
This alarming wave of violence has prompted Sen. Franklin Drilon to push for the passage of a measure that would regulate the carrying of firearms.
A P500,000 reward was also offered for the solution of the Lozano case.
"This is the first time that this happened, this is atypical of the carnapping cases we handled," said Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina, director of the Highway Patrol Group which is a member of the Special Investigation Task Group-Lozano.
What is peculiar of the cases of Emerson Lozano and Benson Evangelista, the son of the car trader, was that they were kidnapped and murdered after the vehicles they were selling were taken from them.
Chief Superintendent Benito Estipona, commander of the Special Investigation Task Group-Lozano, said the charred body of Evangelista, which was retrieved in Barangay Buliran in Cabanatuan City last Friday, was initially confirmed by his father as that of his son based on the partially burned personal belongings recovered.
"But the father is requesting for confirmatory test by the Crime Laboratory through dental records and the likes," said Estipona in a press briefing in Camp Crame Tuesday afternoon.
Evangelista was reported missing on January 13 after meeting a prospective buyer of a second-hand high-end vehicle in Quezon City.
Lozano's burned cadaver was also discovered on January 14 near the FVR Megadike in Porac, Pampanga while that of his driver Ernani Sensil was found on January 13 in La Paz, Tarlac.
"The manner by which they were killed and the manner by which their bodies were disposed are the same...we are now zeroing in on some groups aligned with our theories on these two cases," said Estipona.
Quoting initial report from the Crime Laboratory, Lozano, Sensil and the body believed to be that of Evangelista were all shot in the head and burned later using kerosene.
Another similarity, he revealed, was that the gun used in shooting all three victims appeared to be coming from a 9mm pistol.
"There are similarities on these two cases, we are currently establishing relationship between these two incidents," said Estipona.
But Espina would not immediately conclude on the initial motive of carnapping and the possibility that the killings were perpetrated by one group.
"Maybe, or maybe not (the killings were perpetrated by one group), it could be carnapping as motive or this could be a case of murder because there seems to be so much anger as revealed by how they were brutally killed," said Espina.
Espina said they are closely looking into the case since the modus operandi used is that the perpetrators posed as buyers of second-hand vehicles, with the meeting both set up in Quezon City.
He also revealed that there was also a similarity in the modus operandi in the sense that both perpetrators on the Lozano and Evangelista cases had asked for a test drive of the vehicles during nigh time.
The 2008 model silver KIA Carnival (QAE-333) being sold by Lozano and the green/black 2009 model Land Cruiser (NAI-316) being sold by Evangelista are still missing as of this time.
"We have already flashed a nationwide alert on the two vehicles," said Espina.
Reward offered
During Tuesday's briefing, someone called up Estipona over the phone and a few minutes later, he revealed that a concerned citizen offered P500,000 reward for any information that could lead to the early resolution of the Lozano case.
"He's friend of mine, he just wanted this case to be solved in the soonest possible time so he is offering a reward," Estipona told reporters.
He, however, would not divulge his name.
"Nevertheless, we have good leads on this case, we cannot just disclose it because there are on-going operations with regard to these leads that we are pursuing," he added.
Chief Superintendent Benjardi Mantele, director of the Quezon City Police District, said they will ask Director General Raul Bacalzo, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), to merge the SITG-Lozano which Estipona heads and the SITGEvangelista which he leads.
"There are similarities in these two cases, there may be some information that we can get which are essential to the other case, that of Lozano," said Mantele.
As far as their investigation is concerned, Mantele said they have already obtained the testimonies of some witnesses which provided the names and description of the two persons who were seen with Evangelista the night he disappeared.
He revealed that the one who posed as prospective buyer was a certain Allan Torres, a gay who was even wearing a bra, and shades during his alleged transaction with Evangelista in Quezon City. The other one posed as the car mechanic.
Car trade safety tips
Espina said the two incidents should serve as a warning to other car dealers to be careful, especially in meeting with clients whom they do not know personally.
"This is the first time that this happened, this is atypical of carnapping cases which he handled before," said Espina, referring to the killing of Lozano, Sensil and the other victim believed to be Evangelista.
Among the safety tips offered by Espina are:
1. Get a trusted companion when meeting prospective buyers. 2. Get an authentic identification cards of the prospective buyers such as driver's license and other IDs issued by government agencies. 3. The road test of the vehicle should be done near the car traders' houses. 4. The road test should never be done at night, except if the buyer is a very close friend.
Meanwhile, Drilon filed Senate Bill No. 129, the Firearms Regulation Act of 2010, which mandates the carrying of firearms only to those directly engaged in military, police and other law enforcement functions.
"It is high time that Congress should pass a law that regulates the use of firearms because the growing incidence of violence in the country is very alarming," Drilon said.
Drilon said the measure does not intend to prohibit ownership and possession of licensed firearms, but limits the circumstances under which a private individual may take his firearm outside of his residence.
Under the bill, no permit to carry firearms shall be issued to any person except members of the Armed Forces and the police, agents or officers of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Criminal Investigation Service, Narcotics Command, Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces, Sherriff 's Offices of various courts and other law enforcement agencies and regular agents or personnel of duly-licensed private security agencies or security forces of state agencies.
Licensed individuals, however, are only allowed to carry the firearm when he is in full uniform and engaged in the actual performance of his duty. In the absence of a valid permit to carry firearms, it shall be unlawful for any person to carry the firearm, even if licensed, anywhere outside his camp, station, residence or sports facility.
However, no permit to carry shall be issued to any temporary or confidential agents or informers of the military, police or any law enforcement agency.
Likewise, no permit shall be issued to any person as a tool of any sport, game, sporting event or sports-related activity unless the applicant for the same is a regular member in good standing of a licensed and government-accredited shooting club and executes a verified undertaking to keep the firearm covered by permit only in his residence, office or sports facility.
Violators shall be punished by imprisonment of not less than six years and one day but not more than 10 years and a fine of not less than P20,000 but not more than P100,000.
The bill is now pending on first reading and has been referred to the Committees on Public Order and Illegal Drugs and National Defense and Security.
HEADLINE NEWS YESTERDAY (TUESDAY)
Lozano son murdered By Ding Cervantes (The Philippine Star) Updated January 18, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (102)
A charred body found by a scavenger in a grassy lot in Barangay Mancatian here last Friday afternoon was confirmed to be that of the missing son of Marcos loyalist lawyer Oliver Lozano, according to local police.
Police investigators said the body of 44-year-old Emerson Lozano, a car trader, was found at about 1 p.m. last Friday near the anti-lahar megadike in the barangay.
Police said dentures from the body matched dental records of the younger Lozano, as provided by the Quezon City police. Probers could not immediately confirm whether the victim was shot first then burned, pending full results of the autopsy.
However, the police theorized that Lozano might have been killed elsewhere and then burned at the site where the remains were found. The body was brought to the Galang Funeral Parlor in Angeles City.
Lozano and his driver, Ernani Sensil, 32, were kidnapped last Jan. 12 at a gas station along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City where they were supposed to meet a buyer of a 2008 Kia Carnival van (plate no. QAE-333) he was selling.
Both failed to return home that night.
Sensil's body was found charred and with a bullet hole in the head at 6:30 a.m. the following day in Barangay Matayumtayum, La Paz, Tarlac. The body was reportedly 30 percent charred.
Probers from the Quezon City Police District suspected that the prospective buyer could have arranged a different meeting place where the alleged kidnapping took place.
Those interviewed by the police said they did not notice anything unusual at the supposed time of meeting between Lozano and his clients.
Another car dealer missing
President Aquino ordered the police to prioritize the case and gave assurance the public would be updated on its progress.
He said the discovery of Lozano's remains pointed to a grisly crime and all steps would be taken to uncover thr truth behind the crime, although it is too early to point to a particular suspect or suspects.
Answering the call of the President, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Raul Bacalzo tasked Chief Superintendent Benito Estipona, deputy chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), to head the investigation.
Authorities, however, refused to conclude if the killings of Lozano's son and the disappearance of Venson Evangelista, another car dealer, were connected and perpetrated by one group.
Estipona said they have several leads but refused to elaborate pending further investigation. He said the task group is composed of Police Anti-Crime and Emergency Response (PACER), Highway Patrol Group (HPG), CIDG in Central Luzon, Crime Laboratory and Intelligence Group.
"We will adopt the shotgun approach to be able to get more information that would lead us to the killers," Estipona told The STAR.
PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said investigators have several leads to help solve the killings.
"We are not facing a blank wall on this, we have information based on the testimony of the victims' family but we cannot divulge them because our investigators are using them," said Cruz.
HPG director Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina said the investigation would cover not only the Lozano case but also Evangelista's.
"We're going to meet with the CIDG in order to get the details from concerned units. We have to gather all the details first before we could say for a fact that this is indeed a case or a specific case," Espina said, adding that investigators could not yet connect the two incidents, although the cases show new modus operandi of criminal groups.
"We are reviewing some details. We cannot conclude yet on the link between the Lozano-Evangelista cases. We will look into the motive behind these cases," he said. "In many cases of carnapping, it}s mostly about money, but these cases were gory. But again, I can't say anything conclusive."
Same modus operandi
Arsenio Evangelista, Venson's father, said his son was taken by at least four men when he accompanied two potential buyers for a test drive of a 2009 Toyota Land Cruiser at about 4 p.m. along Sgt. Juan Catolos street in Cubao. The sport utility vehicle (SUV) belongs to the elder Evangelista, which the victim had been helping to sell.
Evangelista has asked his son's kidnappers to free him in exchange for the Cruiser, valued at over P3 million.
"My son's safety is of utmost importance, his children, the entire family are waiting for his return. I appeal to the suspects to release my son and just keep the car," he said.
Arsenio said his son met two of the kidnappers at their house in Cubao. One of the suspects introduced himself as the buyer while the other said he was a mechanic.
He said his son accompanied the two men on a test drive of the SUV (plate no. NAI-316), but witnesses later said they saw his son and the two men struggling inside the SUV before it sped off towards EDSA.
Arsenio said they tried to call his son's mobile phone but it had been turned off. He said they have not received any ransom demand from Venson's kidnappers.
Senior Superintendent Isagani Nerez, PACER commander, said Venson's case is still classified as a "missing person" incident.
"As of now, he is considered as a missing person as there was no demand for ransom. There was also no contact made with his family. It appears that the suspects were just interested in the car that he was selling. But we are also looking into other possible motives," he said.
Still at a loss
Meanwhile, Quezon City Police District director Chief Superintendent Benjardi Mantele said they are still at a loss as to the whereabouts and identity of the suspects in the Lozano killing.
"Although the case has been turned over to higher headquarters, we are still involved in the sense that we continue to gather information on the incident and feeding the concerned offices in Camp Crame," Mantele told The STAR yesterday.
"We are also not saying that the killing happened exactly here (in Quezon City). We have absolutely no basis or concrete evidence to say for certain that it did," he said.
The elder Lozano, in an interview with Arnold Clavio on Unang Balita, said the family is still at a loss as to who could have perpetrated the gruesome killing.
"It could also have been a case of mistaken identity, as my son had no enemies. The incident could not have been related to my political activities because he never meddled in my work," he said.
Lozano's body was brought home yesterday morning after some delays in the travel permits. His remains lie at the St. Peter's Chapel on Quezon Avenue in Quezon City.
The Lozano patriarch is calling on the public who may have information to come forward and relay them to the authorities, their family and relatives for the early resolution of the case.
The family has also requested the media for some degree of privacy and quiet in this time of grief. – Ric Sapnu, Jerry Botial, Aurea Calica, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Pete Laude
----------------------------------------------------------
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
----------------------------------------------------------
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet
This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.
To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------
