14 cops cited for arrest of 2 top suspectsRazon: Brains in Bersamin murder will be nailed down

CAMP DANGWA, Benguet -- The Philippine National Police would nail down in due time the mastermind in the killing of former Abra Rep. Luis Bersamin in Quezon City last Dec. 16 even as 14 cops who were involved in the arrest of the top two suspects in the slay were cited here by PNP chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr.

Razon told newsmen he was satisfied with the progress of the investigation in the Besamin case conducted by the Task Force Bersamin, especially with the arrest of suspects Freddie Dupo and Sunny Taculao.

Both Dupo and Taculao were interrogated by men of Director Edgardo Doromal, head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and concurrent chief of Task Force Bersamin.

Dupo identified Gerry Turqueza as the triggerman in Bersamin’s slay. Turqueza belongs to his group along with Taculao and a certain Ka Jun and an unidentified driver, said Dupo.

But Dupo hinted that an ex-mayor and a brother of a former congressional candidate recruited his group for the “hit’, along with the second group whose members were armed with high-powered guns.

With the confession of Dupo and Taculao, Razon was confident the mastermind in the Bersamin slay will be unmasked and arrested very soon.

Razon also noted the Cal. 45 pistol seized from Taculao was certified by the crime laboratory of the PNP in Camp Crame as the same gun used in the Bersamin ambush-slay.

“With the arrest of the two suspects and the findings of the crime lab that the gun seized from them was used in the killing, the next to fall would be no other than the mastermind,” said Razon.

Meanwhile, the PNP chief said Doromal’s investigation now leads to the identification of the mastermind.

“With the rate our investigation in Bersamin’s case is going, I’m confident that we can get the mastermind very soon,’ said Razon.

Bersamin’s brother, Abra Gov. Eustaquio Bersamin is also satisfied with the progress of Doromal’s probe but “it would be very nice if the mastermind is arrested and put behind bars.”

The governor said the family of his brother only wanted to know why he was murdered and the motive behind the killing.

Razon said other police regional offices should emulate the accomplishment of Cordillera police in solving unexplained killings and other unsolved crimes in their areas of responsibilities.

The PNP chief directed Director Jeff Soriano, head of the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management to push the PROs to go after the suspects in the said unexplained and unsolved killings.

Meanwhile, the 14 policemen of the Police Regional Office in the Cordillera and National Capital Region Police Office who comprised Task Force Bersamin, were cited by Razon for efforts that led to the arrest of the two principal suspects in the murder of Bersamin on Dec. 16.

The 14 policemen who received citations from the PNP chief at simple ceremonies held here at Camp Dangwa were Senior Insp. Crispin Ongikan, PO2 Rolando G. Tagulao, Insp. Johnson Bantog II, PO3 Francies C. Pawe, PO2 Walter G. Eheng, Insp. Rey M. Villoria, PO3 Antalio G. Rillera Jr., PO2 Carlo Pablo M. Fernandez, PO1 Charles N. Pan-oy, PO1 Posedio P. Gaspar, SPO3 Salvador P. Aroco, PO2 Agusto A. Domeris, and Senior Insp. Allan B. Guyguyon.

Razon said arrest of two principal suspects in the Bersamin murder was a manifestation that no one is above the law, adding erpetrators must suffer the consequences of their dastardly act.

Taculao, alleged driver of the getaway motorcycle, and Dupo, alleged link to the mastermind in the Bersamin murder, were arrested last week in an operation at a scheduled farm in Baras, Rizal.

In a related development, the results of the ballistic test conducted by the PNP crime laboratory on the Cal. 45 pistol seized by the arresting team from Taculao showed it matched the firearm used in the murder of Bersamin.

This strengthened the case against the two suspect, police said.

Charry Bersamin, daughter of the slain lawmaker, had earlier appealed to Dupo and Taculao to help police authorities investigating the case by identifying the mastermind.

She said the P1.5 million cash reward raised by her family and friends will be given to those who were instrumental in the arrest of the two suspects.

Another suspect, Salvador Baroza, reportedly died of sickness in a hospital in Tondo, Manila early last month.

It was learned that authorities were conducting a hunt for another suspect, whom Dupo and Taculao identified as the alleged gunman in the assassination of the Abra lawmaker. – With a report from Dexter A See