Home 
A drug syndicate may be behind Tuesday's killing of an anti-narcotics policeman in Mandaue City, said the city's police chief.
Those behind the killing of PO2 Jose Clint Cañete may be the same group that assassinated a lawyer in Cebu City last May, said Acting Mandaue city police director.
He pointed out that the way Cañete was gunned down was similar to how Richard Sison was killed on May 21 on V. Sotto Street, Cebu City.
Sison was driving his Toyota Hi-Lux pickup when one of the two men on a motorcycle shot him several times.
Security guard Nemuel Sumabong is now facing charges for Sison’s murder. Sumabong had denied the charges but the National Bureau of Investigation investigators claimed he was a gun-for-hire.
Premne said they could not yet establish the link between the two murders.
“Pero akong tanaw, lawom lawom gyud ni nga syndikato (But I think, a big syndicate is involved),” Premne said after a conference between MCPO and the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office yesterday.
“Pareho kaayo ang mode of execution, so in terms sa mode of execution we can say nga similar sila,” said Premne
Official of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the lead agency investigating the Sison murder, said they had yet to determine the link of the two murders but they were willing to coordinate with Mandaue police.
Medardo de Lemos, NBI director for Central Visayas, said that while he was familiar with the Sison case, it was too early to conclude if it had a link with Cañete murder.
Cañete, of the Regional Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operation Task Group, was heading back to Cebu City after attending a hearing on a drug case in Lapu-Lapu past noon Tuesday when he was shot dead by one of the two men on board a motorcycle at the First Mandaue-Mactan Bridge.
Premne said the police didn't have any suspect yet but he confirmed that two men were taken in for questioning.
He said Ramon Manligis and Roger Bayawa were not suspects yet as they could lead the police to Cañete's killers.
Manligis and Bayawa, both of Lapu-Lapu City, were arrested in a police checkpoint along AC Cortes Avenue around 11:45 p.m. yesterday.
The two tried to evade arrest.
Manligis, who was driving a Volkswagen, got out of his car and ran toward a creek leading to barangay Opao where he was caught. Police said they seized two .45 caliber pistols from him.
Premne said Bayawa, believed to be a “backup” of Manligis, was also arrested after a chase.
“We are testing the firearm to see if it would cross-match with the ones used in the shooting,” Premne said.
Premne said investigators believed that the assailants had a backup on board an Enduro motorcycle because witnesses saw two motorcycles –one white and one black –parked outside the Lapu-Lapu Palace of Justice where Cañete was testifying against drug suspect Eddie Palincod.
The riders of both motorbikes did not remove their helmets.
Premne said the killers may have waited for Cañete to step out of the court building, tailed him to the First Mandaue-Mactan Bridge and killed him.
But Senior Supt. Mariano Natuel, director of the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office, said an informant gave him the names of the two possible suspects in the Cañete killing.
“As of 11 a.m. today, I just received information as to who are the assailants but I still have to verify this. Yes, I have names", Natuel said.
He said the tipster was “95 percent sure” about the accuracy of the information.
The two suspects, whom he refused to name, had prior criminal reports, said Natuel.
As of yesterday, Natuel said they still believed that the killing could be related to illegal drugs.
After getting the two names, Natuel informed Premne and Supt. Marvin Sanchez, RAIDSOTG chief, about it.
The Mandaue police remains the lead agency in the investigation. The Lapu-Lapu police and other agencies provided support.
Natuel said security cameras installed in the different streets of Lapu-Lapu city failed to capture images of the gunmen tailing Cañete from the Palace of Justice.
He said the video footage taken was not clear. /With reports from Correspondents Jhunnex Napallacan, Chito O. Aragon and Justin A.K. Vestil
