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RELATIVES of Ronel ?Tata? Wagas, who allegedly killed a policeman in a 2008, branded the police shootout on Thursday as an ?overkill? and a ?rubout,? saying the victim was unarmed.
?Wala siya nisukol kay wala armas akoa igsuon, wala man gani nakit-an na granada. Naa daghan makasulti dinhi unsa nahitabo,? said Arnel Wagas, the elder brother of the victim.
?Dili jud na maayo ela pag-pusil sa akoa igsoon,? he added.
Arnel said there was no shootout but a rubout, adding that there were many witnesses who could testify on that.
According to Arnel, the shootout was an overkill because the wounds his brothersustained were too many and some were at close range.
?Dili sila pataka, dili nila pasobraan ela gi-buhat dili naman na makatarongan ela gi-buhat liman ka sa kadaghan ug samad sa ako igsoon,?Arnel said.
Wagas sustained at least nine bullet wounds.
Sr. Supt. Erson Digal, chief of police of Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) however denied it was a rubout, saying there were a lot of people inside the cockpit.
Digal said that what police did was merely in self-defense because they were being fired at.
?Paniguro lang pud to amoa kay gi-pusil naman mi ang-ang naman pud magpatara lang ang pulis,? Digal said.
Supt. Nestor Sator, chief of PNP Crime Laboratory who conducted an autopsy on Wagas' body said the victim bore three bullets wounds to the head, one in the nape, one on the chest and three on the legs. Arnel, 28, told Cebu Daily News that the killing of his brother was not justifiable because he was not carrying a gun during the alleged encounter.
He said that prior to the incident his brother had given the gun to his friend because he did not want to commit any sin.
Wagas was about to get married to his live-in partner, who is six months pregnant, when he was killed.
His wake is being held at the house of his parents in barangay Tag-ubi Compostela. He will be buried on Feb. 14.
Wagas was the alleged triggerman in the killing of PO3 Clint Cañete, who was gunned down at the foot of the First Mactan-Mandaue Bridge in October 2008.
Policemen tried to serve two warrants of arrest against Wagas for murder and illegal drug charges but police said Wagas fired at them when they served the warrant.
Sator said that based on his autopsy examination, Wagas was shot from a long distance since no tattoing was found on his wounds.
Asked if the bullets wounds indicate that there was a shootout, Sator said there might be a possibility because he was shot first on his legs to stop or neutralize him.
When he continued to shoot at the raiding team, Sator said policemen were forced to shoot back to defend themselves. ?Police are taught that their first priority is safety?, he said.
Sator could not determine from what kind of guns hit Wagas. He recovered a deformed slug and three metal jackets.
A .45 pistol and empty shells recovered from Wagas were subjected to ballistic examinations.
A paraffin test was also conducted on both hands of Wagas but the result was not available yet. /Correspondents Jucell Marie P.Cuyos and Chito O. Aragon
