Police Colonel Manuel Abrugena, CPPO director | CDN file
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) is still considering if there will be a need to create a Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) to handle the investigation in the killing of Barangay Ilaya Councilor Ramil Abueva in the town of Ronda in southwestern Cebu.
“Kung ang chief of police ay within the next day ay wala pa po’ng kalinawan yung pag resolve nga kasong ito, we will be creating the SITG immediately,” said Police Colonel Manuel Abrugena, CPPO director, in a phone interview with CDN Digital on Monday, April 8.
Read more: Politics, drugs eyed as possible motives in Ronda barangay councilor’s killing
According to initial investigation, Abueva was shot dead by an unidentified assailant on Sunday, April 7, as he was heading home to Barangay Ilaya from the town’s public market.
Abueva, who was on his motorcycle tried to flee from his car-riding attacker, but the gunman pursued him, caught up with him and shot him several times in the body.
On Monday, Abrugena also ordered the validation to the Investigation and Detective Management Branch (IDMB) whether the killing is election-related.
Abrugena said that they were also checking the victim’s background especially his business dealings, which could be a possible motive in the attacks.
“Tinitignan rin po natin yung profile nga victim… kung siya po ba ay may kaaway,” said Abrugena, adding that the perpetrators may have used the election period as cover.
Read more: No more ‘red election hotspots’ in Cebu, says PRO-7 official
He said that the Ronda town might be reclassified under the red category of the election watchlist areas should it be established that the killing of Abueva is election-related.
Ronda town is classified under the orange category of the election watchlist areas.
According to Commission on Elections, areas under the orange category are those areas with a presence of armed men or armed threats while those under the red classification are where there is history of election related violence and presence of armed men and proliferation of firearms. /dbs