Deck of cards scattered inside the Buenavista Cockpit Arena after Mayor Ronald Lowell “Sample” Tirol was murdered last Sunday, May 27. Two of the three suspects who were positively identified by the witnesses were charged with murder. Leo Udtohan/Inquirer Visayas
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol- Buenavista town is gripped by fear following the killing of Buenavista Mayor Ronald Lowell “Sample” Tirol last Sunday.
“I feel I am no longer safe here,” said Gina, a resident who asked to withhold her family name.
(family name withheld upon her request),
Another resident, Victoria, said she planned to transfer due to the killings in Buenavista, a 4th class town with a population of 27,261.
“I hope no more killing here. It is still scary,” she said.
Tirol was the third high profile shooting victim in Buenavista. The two others were a policeman and a militiaman.
Chief Insp. Rully Lauron, Buenavista police chief, Station, admitted that there was a sense of unease among the residents following the killing of their mayor.
“I notice that the people were scared since their mayor himself was killed. They found that alarming,” he said.
“I hope that the residents would not be cowered by fear. We have disseminated our contact information for people who may have known the whereabouts of the gunmen who killed the mayor,” he added.
But it was still business as usual at the municipal hall, said Vice Mayor Dave Duallo who assumed as acting mayor following the death of Tirol.
Number one Councilor Ma. Christine Cabarrubias-Torregosa also took over as acting vice mayor based on law of succession.
Duallo said it was understandable that the people were shocked by the mayor’s killing.
“But life goes on. Our service to the people will not stop,” he said.
The police have filed murder complaints against two men who were suspected to be behind the killing of Tirol.
Elmer Melencion was identified by witnesses as the one who shot Tirol while playing a card game inside the cockpit arena that he owned in Buenavista past 3 p.m. on Sunday.
At that time, the mayor’s bodyguards were running an errand for Tirol.
Melencion, a noted gun-for-hire, had a separate murder charge but was able to post bail.
Also charged was another hitman, Emedio Aparece Jr. who served as look-out.
Lauron said Aparece was also identified by another witness during the investigation.
Melencion and Aparece were noted hired killers, according to police records.
Police were considering politics, business and personal conflict as possible motives behind the killing of Tirol, 38 and a bachelor who was a scion of a political family in Bohol.
Melencion’s motive, according to Lauron, may have been personal since he was also the suspect in the attack on Tirol in 2014 also inside a cockpit area in Clarin town.
Senior Supt. Angeles Geñorga, police Bohol director, said the gunman likely carried out the attack on orders of a still unidentified “mastermind.”
“Although we have identified the gunman, the work is not complete since we still don’t have the mastermind,” said Geñorga.
Aparece, who has been evading arrest, has a P200,000 bounty on his head and a pending multiple murder charges.
Aparece was identified as the one who killed SPO1 Alejandro Estorgio of Buenavista police station last February while conducting foot patrol to secure a town’s disco party.
this year who was conducting patrols to secure a Aparece was also tagged in the killing of barangay captain Antonio Neones Sr. and councilor Ursolo Petalcorin, who were shot dead in Buenavista in 2016 and 2017.
He was also the prime suspect in the killing of militaman Benedicto Melencion on March 22, 2017 and Jessie Versaga on Feb.18, 2017.
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