Police claim that former Talisay City Councilor Emilio “Emil” Go, who was gunned down by a lone assailant Wednesday evening, is on their illegal drugs and illegal gambling watchlists.
Investigators are now looking into business rivalry in the illegal drug trade as well as illegal gambling as possible motives of the crime.
“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 drug trade and gambling,” Senior Supt. Edgar Alan Okubo, director of the Cebu Provincial Police Office told reporters on Thursday.
CDN tried to contact Go’s family for their reaction about these allegations but our messages remain unanswered.
Go, one of the first councilors to be elected when Talisay became a city in 2001, was gunned down 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.
The assailant and his two companions, who were on board two cars, have not yet been identified.
Go is the 41st person killed by unknown assailants in separate incidents in Metro Cebu since February 17. Not a single case has been solved.
Supt. Reyman Tolentin, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7), said it is possible that illegal drug 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 no reason for the public to be alarmed for now since the murders are not connected to each other.
“There are no vigilantes so to speak, and we should stop speculating,” he said.
Among the murders that remain unsolved are 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.