Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) director, Josefino Ligan during one of his online pressers. | CDN file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Police here are looking into the cases handled by slain lawyer Joey Luis Wee as investigation to his ambush goes full swing.
Wee was shot dead by unidentified men on a motorcycle outside his office in Barangay Kasambagan on Monday, November 20, 2020.
Read: 2 lawyers shot in Cebu in less than 2 months
Police Colonel Josephino Ligan, the director of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), said in a press conference with reporters on Tuesday, November 21, 2020, that police have coordinated with the family of Wee for the investigation.
The CCPO wants to look into information of previous and recent cases Wee handled since the shooting was seemingly planned and orchestrated.
“Currently niadto atong mga imbestigador niadto sa crime scene para maestorya ang kabanay sa bikitma. Mihangyo mi sa pamilya nga iturn over ang cellphone aron makita nato didto iyang last conversations,” said Ligan.
(Currently, investigators have gone to the crime scene to talk with the relatives of the victim. We asked the family that the victim’s cellphone be turned over so we can check on his last conversations.)
In a closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage acquired by investigators, it was seen that the suspects, who were riding in tandem, waited for Wee outside the building where his office was located. The two suspects shot the lawyer in less than a minute and fled the scene immediately.
As of this posting, police said they are looking for other leads that can help with the investigation.
The police are also looking closely at the CCTV footage to compare the suspects to the profiles of individuals with similar features in their database.
The two suspects may have also have been involved in other incidents, which is important that they be identified through the CCTV footage.
Ligan said that there will be no special investigation task group (SITG) that will be formed for the shooting of the lawyer as the circumstances does not qualify for the formation of such.
However, he has called on all police stations to be coordinated in the investigation of this particular incident led by the Mabolo Police Station, which has jurisdiction over Barangay Kasambagan.
“We just work on the speedy resolution with the help CCPO units,” said Ligan.
Need for motorcycle-riding cops
Meanwhile, the killing of Wee has raised concerns on the return of riding-in-tandem after the Interagency Task Force (IATF) for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) allowed pillion riding in motorcycles again.
Because of this, Ligan has instructed motorcycle-riding cops to return to the streets to check the interior portions of barangays (villages) and respond to incidents faster.
Read: Cebu City police to deploy motorcycle-riding team soon
These patrols should be able to prevent crimes around the city, especially when lawless elements can see the police actively going around villages.
Motorcycle-riding cops have the right to check all vehicles for suspicious activities, especially motorcycles with back riders.
If a back rider is carrying a suspicious bag, the police can and should check them as a preventive measure for crimes.
“We need to to do this to prevent crimes such as robbery (because Christmas is approaching),” said Ligan.
/bmjo