THE police are creating another task force to investigate the killing of a policeman, in the hope of identifying and arresting his assailants.
Police Regional Director, Chief Supt. Debold Sinas ordered the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) to create a Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) to look into the killing of PO2 Lord Rometh Cañada last November 14.
To date, the police still cannot identify Cañada’s assailants.
The creation of the task force was requested by Minglanilla Police Station Commander, Chief Insp. Vernino Noserale.
“Nag-request ang police station chief og SITG, siyempre sige gipangimbestigahan namo si kinsa g’yud nagpusil sa iyaha (Cañada),” said Sinas in a press conference on Tuesday.
(The police station chief in Minglanilla personally requested for an SITG so that the investigation will continue as to who killed the victim.)
He said that the SITG will include the Regional Crime Laboratory, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, and the CPPO.
Cañada was shot several times by a masked man using a KG-9 sub-machine gun as he was about to leave an auto repair shop in Barangay Calajo-an, Minglanilla town.
His assailant was riding a blue car and disembarked from the passenger side, shot the policeman then fled.
Despite the evidence like the footage from a closed-circuit television camera located near the area where Cañada was shot dead, Sinas said that they still have not established the motive behind the killing.
“Wala pa ma establish g’yud (as to the reason behind the killing). Ato pa gipaimbestigaran is it job related? Drug related? Or gun for hire,” said Sinas.
The top police official in the region also admitted that they have not been able to verify if Cañada was involved in illegal activities during his stint as a police officer.
What they know of, Sinas said, that Cañada evaded a drug test.
“He only has an administrative case because he evaded a drug test. But aside from that, we do not have any confirmation if he has an involvement in illegal activities,” said Sinas.
Sinas assured the family of Cañada that they will get the death benefits since the latter was not killed during a police operation.