Cop’s mysterious death still baffles investigators

The death of a Cordova town policeman whose body was found two days after linking retired generals Marcelo Garbo and Vicente Loot to illegal drugs continued to baffle police investigators even as a PNP Crime Laboratory report yesterday said that the empty shell found near PO2 Ryan Casiban’s decomposing body came from the cop’s own service firearm.

While the crime lab report tends to support the theory that the policeman committed suicide, the Police Regional Office (PRO-7) was still not ruling out foul play in the death of Casiban.

“We can’t make any conclusions yet. We continue to gather evidence because we want to find out the truth behind the incident,” said Senior Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas, deputy director for operations of PRO-7.

Lawas is awaiting results of a forensic examination on Casiban’s cellular phone conducted by the PNP Cybercrime Office in Manila which aims to trace deleted text messages from Casiban’s phone.

Earlier, PRO-7 created a special task force headed by Supt. Anthony Bagarinao, deputy director for operations of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO), and assisted by Senior Supt. Marlon Tayaba, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to look into Casiban’s death.

Lawas said police investigators would have wanted to conduct a paraffin test on Casiban to check for traces of gunpowder and determine whether or not the policeman pulled the trigger before he died.

But Casiban’s body was already in a state of decomposition when found in a vacant lot near a firing range in Barangay Agus, Lapu-Lapu City.

An autopsy conducted on the policeman’s body also revealed that some missing fingers and toes may have been caused by “carnivorous and scavenger animals” lurking in the area where Casiban was found.

Not a single bruise was found on his body, according to the autopsy report. Investigators also found no signs of torture.

But the task force, Lawas said, had yet to determine whether or not Casiban committed suicide pending the results of all forensic examinations.

If he was killed, investigators want to identify the perpetrators and determine the motive behind the killing.

The 37-yr old Casiban left his post as desk officer of the Cordova town police station at dawn last Aug. 10, even if his shift had yet to end.

Before leaving work, Casiban hurriedly wrote down entries in the police blotter that accused retired generals Vicente Loot and Marcelo Garbo of being involved in the illegal drug trade.

One of Casiban’s entries read: “Gen. Garbo and Gen. Loot are drug syndicate of the Phils. Because of money protected by his men, PNP organization to stop illegal drugs.”

Another entry said: “Gen. Garbo and Gen. Loot drug syndicate of the Phils. Because of big drug money protected by his men PNP organization.”

The policeman signed the entries and left on a motorcycle bringing with him his government-issued M-16 rifle.

Two days after, Casiban’s decomposing body was later found with a bullet wound in the head.

Investigators are looking into whether Casiban’s death was connected to the entries he wrote in the police blotter before he disappeared.

Loot, now mayor of Daanbantayan town, denied knowing Casiban even when he was still active in the police service while Garbo could not be reached for comment by Cebu Daily News.