Police have identified three persons of interest in the attack that killed a pastor and wounded a tribal leader in Barangay Rizal along a secondary national highway here last July 31.
Maj. Carmelo Malubay, acting chief of the San Francisco Municipal Police Station, said they would file criminal charges against the three suspects should the evidence warrant.
Malubay said the gunmen shot the victims at close range using .45-caliber pistols. Pastor Balvino Andaya of the Risen Christ Community Church was killed, and Avelino Valencia Cajandig, president of the Banwaon Manobo Talaandig Tribal Council, suffered a gunshot wound in his left palm.
A third passenger, Ariel Palanog, was unharmed.
Initial investigation showed that the victims were aboard a Mitsubishi Montero Sport and traveling from Barangay Del Monte in Talacogon town when two unidentified motorcycle-riding gunmen opened fire at them.
The driver lost control of the vehicle, which veered off the road and crashed into a roadside sari-sari store.
Police recovered several spent cartridge cases believed to have come from a .45-caliber firearm. The evidence was submitted for forensic and ballistic examination.
Brig. Gen. Marcial Mariano Magistrado IV, Police Regional Office-13 (PRO-13) director, convened a case conference at the San Francisco police station to review the evidence and speed up efforts to identify and arrest the attackers.
Investigators presented updates on witness interviews, intelligence information, evidence gathered, and follow-up operations.
Magistrado ordered police units to intensify intelligence gathering, investigative work, and the manhunt for the gunmen.
PRO-13 also activated ‘Oplan Cure’ to reinforce the operation. Police were reviewing closed-circuit television footage, interviewing witnesses and pursuing other leads.
‘We are exhausting all available investigative and intelligence resources to identify and arrest those responsible,’ Magistrado said.
He urged anyone with information about the attack to coordinate with the nearest police station immediately./coa