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The National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) yesterday maintained that the Oct. 29 killing of four men linked to the Greenbelt 5 robbery was the result of a shootout.
Residents near the seaside duplex apartment in Compostela town where the suspects hid can attest that there was no rubout, said NBI-7 Executive Officer Ernesto Macabre.
He said the headline story about doubts that the suspects had exchanged gunfire with the NBI raiders was demoralizing to his men involved in the operation.
He said the suspects resisted a joint team from NBI Manila and Cebu, who went to the apartment about 5 p.m. on Oct. 29 to serve arrest warrants on two of the five men.
The two men were allegedly involved in the daylight heist of the Rolex luxury watch store on the ground floor of Greenbelt 5 on Oct. 18.
Among the four men killed were Alvin Flores, leader of the robbery group.
Earlier media reports noted that ?no bullet marks? appeared in the apartment which was off limits to the Compostela police and reporters for four hours after the raid.
The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) is looking into witness accounts that raised doubts that a shootout had indeed taken place.
Only two men checked in the duplex apartment in sitio Lutaw Marikina, barangay Estaca but four men were killed and another surrendered, the police said.
Caretakers were allegedly instructed not to talk to anyone including the police.
But NBI agents yesterday denied anything was amiss in their operation.
?Nahago man gani mi og gukod adtong usa ka suspect unya ingon nga rubout. (We even got tired chasing one of the suspects),? said a frustrated NBI agent who requested anonymity.
The agent was referring to suspect Rene Batiancila who surrendered after trying to wade through the waters to escape only to retreat because he couldn?t swim.
NBI agents said even if only two men were spotted entering the apartment, it was possible that their companions didn't show up.
The NBI-7 said the media should wait for the autopsy and ballistic reports on the incident.
Dr. Rene Cam, medico-legal officer of NBI-7, who is scheduled to release his autopsy reports, said some of the cadavers showed gunshot wounds in the head and body.
The gunshot wounds were larger because of the NBI?s high-powered firearms.
The NBI-7 said three lighted candles in the area marked the spot where the bodies were found.
Agents placed candles when a brownout struck the place at 7 p.m last Thursday..With Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol and Correspondent Jhunnex Napallacan
