Investigating investigators

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

BAGUIO CITY -- The recent killing of a Korean who ran Monroe’s Bar along Bokawkan Road here is still unsolved, the killers still scot-free. I have a Korean friend who said the killing is big news in Korea that they sent their own investigators to this summer capital to look into what really happened and are now asking questions from police. 

Police are reportedly considering several angles in the killing, the usual suspects – love triangle, business deal gone awry or jealousy.     

With the government upping the war against illegal drugs, the victim could also have been an innocent casualty. It’s open season for killers, be they lawmen or hoodlums. As they say, killing like drugs, is addictive – once you’ve tried it, you are hooked. Then you look for the next thrill.

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Once the thrill is gone, there is need to shoot up the adrenaline. Then the next victim is fair game, particularly if he is poor. But not anymore since even those who hold modest positions like alleged drug lord Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa was killed while in detention. If killing nowadays is a way to make money, some enterprising characters have moved in for the kill using different scams to earn big-time.

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 “We were asked to kill you, but we can spare your life for a fee.”

Several netizens have reported what appeared to be a new scam or modus for extortion riding on the spate of killings that has plagued the country in recent months.

At least three different posts, including one supposed recording, claimed that a man who identified himself as “Alex Guerrero” informed them that their organization was ordered to kill the person on the other end of the line.

At least two mobile numbers were attributed to the caller but the narrative appeared to be similar, a news report said. Based on the posts, the caller introduces himself as a member of an organization of hired killers and provided available details about the “victim” such as their full name, address or where they are employed to give credence to their claim.

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The caller will then inform the “victim” that he feels guilty about the order and then asks for money in exchange for being excluded from the hit list.

In the recorded conversation shared on social media, the caller claimed that the money would be used as return fare for the members of their organization who traveled to Metro Manila to execute the order.

A netizen who posted about the call said she hung up upon sensing that it was a scam.

“But it’s not to say that I didn’t get scared, especially when I found out that the man initially called my office and found out my personal number there after saying he has a very urgent matter that he needs to talk to me about,” read one of the posts.

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“I should have peace of mind knowing that I’m not involved with anything that could endanger my safety, however, with more and more people getting killed for no reason each day – one case being that of Lauren Rosales, a K-pop fan with no history of illegal drug use – I don’t think anybody’s safe anymore,” the post added.

Rosales was killed by an unidentified assailant on July 21 in Makati City while she was in a passenger jeepney. Her brother Petronio, who was supposed to meet with police investigators regarding his sister’s case, was gunned down last month in Barangay San Antonio, also in Makati City.

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Another person who received a similar call warned against such apparent scams. “See what happens when there is impunity on extrajudicial killings? Criminals would use such immunity to their advantage to commit more crimes,” the post read.

“And why am I posting about this? So that you will be aware of the new modus because if you are not smart enough, this strategy might consume you and you will be their next prey,” it said.

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I know a Chinese-Filipino businessman who told me he had been informed that in Manila particularly Binondo, his compatriots had been victimized by this scam. But whether their predators were lawmen or criminals without government credentials, some gave in and have paid hefty sums of cash to these hoods.

He says the Chinese community is jittery as some have been threatened of their families getting killed if they won’t pay up.

Are there lawmen involved in this kind of modus operandi in Northern Luzon like Baguio? Was the Korean businessman who had a thriving business along Bokawkan Road killed because he refused to pay up? 

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Killings are now frequent daily that it is not clear if these are drug-related. The killers are not known if they are lawmen, vigilantes or just plain criminals out to even a score.  Concerned folks say there are no investigations, or if there are, nobody is being investigated. Meanwhile, nary even a word even from our local human rights groups.

The daily killings have deadened senses of the people. Nobody is standing up to say enough is enough, says a post.  “You will not know how grave the situation is until somebody close to you like a member of your family is killed.”

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Now comes our perennially drunk neighborhood philosopher’s take on the situation: Let Pacquiao fight every day. He says crime (even killings), as reported by police,  was down during Sen. Manny Pacquiao’s fight with Jesse Vargas nationwide, even in Metro Manila since everybody was glued to the boob tube.

Credit it to the Filipino’s trait of finding humor even in the goriest circumstances.