Police investigators are looking into a business rivalry in the illegal drug trade as well as illegal gambling as possible motives in the killing of former Talisay City councilor Emilio “Emil” Go.
Senior Supt. Edgar Alan Okubo, director of the Cebu Provincial Police Office, said Go is on the police’s illegal drugs and illegal gambling watchlists.
“Listed siya eh. (He’s on our list). So I told the chief of police (of Talisay City) to look into a possible rivalry in the illegal drugs trade and gambling,” he told reporters on Thursday.
Go, one of the first councilors to be elected when Talisay became a city in 2001, was gunned down by a lone assailant at his fighting-cock farm in Mansueto Village in Barangay Bulacao, Talisay City at around 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
He succumbed to a gunshot wound on his head.
Investigators have yet to identify the assailant and the latter’s companions on board two cars.
Go was the 41st person to be killed by unknown assailants in separate incidents in Metro Cebu since February 17. Not a single case has been resolved yet.
Supt. Reyman Tolentin, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), said there is a possibility that ilegal drugs syndicates are now going against each other after the government made it difficult for them to operate.
“Drugs is a very risky business. It leads to death. So when the business is not doing well, their members kill each other,” he explained.
While it is a good sign, Tolentin said the police will not tolerate the killings.
“We need to enhance police visibility and intensify our campaign against loose firearms,” he said.
Tolentin assured the public that police investigators are doing their best to arrest the persons who are involved in the series of killings.
“Please give us time. We can’t solve the killings overnight. Every killing has its own particular circumstances. We will try to look into all the angles as we ask our investigators to dig deeper into each case,” he said.
Amid the spate of killings, Tolentin said there is reason for the public to be alarmed for now since there are no links to connect these murders to each other.
“There are no vigilantes so to speak, and we should stop speculating,” he said.
Among the murder cases that remain unresolved were the ambush-slay of lawyer and Ronda town Vice Mayor Jonnah John Ungab, Korean businessman Shang Ho Lee, SPO1 Ben Serjihos, PO2 Rome Bolaño, San Fernando town Councilor Alexander Alicaway, and Go.
These killings happened from February 17 to March 14, based on the tally made by Cebu Daily News.
“Let’s trust our justice system. I assure you that the wheels of justice are turning. The police are doing our jobs professionally. Just trust the system,” Tolentin said.