POLICE Colonel Jean Fajardo, Philippine National Police (PNP) public information officer, said Thursday that investigators are now looking at the son of the female victim in the viral bus shooting video as a possible person of interest.
Fajardo said the female victim filed carnapping charge against her son who posted bail. The son, the report said, denied the accusation that he masterminded the killing of his mother.
“Medyo malalim po yung naging alitan ng mag-ina maliban po dito sa alleged na pagfa-file ng kaso ng carnapping, but I’m not at liberty to discuss the other details para di po macompromise yung ongoing investigation,” Fajardo said.
(There’s a deeply-rooted conflict between the mother and son aside from the alleged filing of carnapping, but I’m not at liberty to discuss the other details so that the ongoing investigation will not be compromised,)
The police official identified the victims as a 60-year old female from Cauayan, Isabela and a 55-year old male from South Cotabato.
The two victims were reportedly live-in partners and are businesspeople.
“In the spirit of transparency, [ang anak] po yung tinitignan natin na isa sa mga posibleng may kinalaman although nakausap na din po ng mga imbestigador yung anak at sinasabing wala siyang kinalaman. But hindi po tayo magi-stop doon. Umaasa po tayo doon sa ibang mga ebidensya na makukuha natin that would lead to the identification of the two suspects and, of course, the mastermind behind this killing,” said Fajardo.
Police also reported that the female victim figured in an argument before boarding the bus.
Members of her family said the victim had been receiving death threats.
Meanwhile, investigators will be retracing the route of the Victory Liner bus as they look into the possibility that an informant was one of the passengers.
“Ang pagpunta [ng mga biktima] sa Tarlac ay naka schedule. Tinitignan yung possibility na may nagbigay ng information na sila ay bibiyahe ng araw na yun para abangan lamang sila sa kanilang dadaanan. Titignan yung mga dinaanan ng bus baka sakali makakuha tayo ng mas malinaw na deskripsyon ng suspect kasi po wala naman pong face mask yung mga suspek,” she said.
“The fact na inabangan lamang doon sa Nueva Vizcaya yung mga biktima natin, there is a possibility na alam ng mga suspects yung movement ng ating mga biktima at alam na sumakay sila sa particular bus po na yun,” she added.
Gun-for-hire
According to a “24 Oras” report by Chino Gaston, police believe the suspects are possible guns-for-hire and are following leads provided by witnesses who allegedly saw the suspects casually leave the area after the incident.
“Bumaba itong mga suspect, tinraverse po nila itong ilog diyan sa Barangay Minuli, and then may witnesses po na nag-aallege nakitang umakyat sa mountainous part [of the area],” said Carranglan Police Station Chief Police Major Rey Ian Agliam.
A cross-matching of the CCTV footage of the incident will also be conducted against existing shooting videos to find an identifying match to the gunmen.
“Malaking bagay po yung nakuha nating CCTV footage dahil yung kanilang manner they executed, yung pagbaril, yung kanilang pagtayo, yung paggamit ng baril, ay lahat po yan ay ikukumpara natin sa ibang mga recorded shooting incidents natin that would lead to the possible identification ng mga suspects po natin which we’re confident na magkaroon ng positibong resulta po,” she said.
