Lapu-Lapu police have identified the alleged shooter of the head of the City Traffic Management System (CTMS) Frank Brazil.
Lapu-Lapu police chief Senior Supt. Rommel Cabagnot said they have three witnesses who have pointed to a certain Eric Empaso, the same person who allegedly ambushed Basak Barangay Captain Isabelito Darnayla in April last year.
Darnayla identified him as the gunman who ambushed him at the General Aviation road in Barangay Basak. He was hit in the back but was able to shoot back although he missed.
Empaso is the subject of a warrant of arrest for the attempted murder of Darnayla and has been hiding.
The police had no idea about his location or if he had gone back to Mindanao.
Brazil was shot in the back near his office in Barangay Poblacion on the evening of August 6. He was just discharged from the hospital.
Senior Insp. Alcon Escosura, chief of the Homicide Section, said they will wait for Brazil’s affidavit and medical certificate so they can file the charges against Empaso before the Prosecutor’s Office.
Mayor Paz Radaza offered a P100,000 reward money from her own pocket to whoever can give information leading to the arrest of Empaso.
According to the mayor, Brazil’s shooting might have been triggered by the operations against colorum tricycles and illegal parking on Basak road.
Police believe that Empaso is a hitman hired by tricycle drivers living in the Basak area. Each time he is tasked to shoot a target and does it, he goes home to Lanao Province in Mindanao.
“It’s not only in Basak that we apprehend undocumented tricycles but it is also being done in other barangays,” said Radaza.
She added that since they started clearing the roads of obstructions, such as illegally parked cars and undocumented tricycles, traffic flow in Basak has improved.
She said that Lapu-Lapu City has released around 4,000 tricycle franchises and were no longer adding more to control the number of tricycles. Some tricycle operators do not have a franchise.