PRO-7 wants DNA test on charred body said to be Tangkag Llaguno

Police Brigadier Debold Sinas, the director of the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7),  says on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019, that he ordered a DNA test on the charred body found in Barangay Malubog, Cebu City to confirm if it is that of Cary “Tangkag” Llaguno. | CDN Digital Photo/Delta Letigio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) wanted the charred body of a slaying-cum-fire victim in Barangay Malubog, Cebu City to go through a DNA test to determine if it was really that of  Cary “Tangkag” Llaguno.

Llaguno, 42, who  was the brother of slain suspected drug lord Crisostomo “Tata Negro” Llaguno, was allegedly killed after a group of about 20-30 men barged into his home and left his body to burn inside his house in Barangay Malubog  on Wednesday, September 25, 2019.

Read more: Tata Negro’s brother killed; body left inside burning home

Police Brigadier General Debold Sinas, the director of PRO-7, told reporters on Thursday, September 26, that he wanted the killing of Cary Llaguno thoroughly investigated because the body found in the house was only identified as Tangkag through the statements of witnesses, who included Tangkag’s father-in-law.

However, PRO-7 has no evidence to conclude with certainly that the charred body indeed belonged to Tangkag.  Without it, Sinas said, there remained a possibility that the body was not Llaguno even if circumstantial evidences pointed to him as the victim.

Sinas said he has ordered the police crime laboratory to conduct a DNA test on the body and compare it to Tangkag’s next of kin, either that of his father or his brother, for confirmation of identity.

Sinas added they would also review the witnesses’ accounts on Tangkag’s death.

Sinas admitted that he doubted the statements of the witnesses, the housemates of Tangkag, that at least 20 or 30 armed men barged into the house because there was no trace that a “crowd” of men went into the area at the time that the alleged killing happened and when the fire erupted at Llaguno’s house.

Read More: Father-in-law of Tangkag claims armed men searched and burned his house

“Logically, dili possible nga ing-ana ka daghang tawo nisulod sa balay. Mabantayan unta sa mga silingan. Na-exaggerate ra na,” said Sinas.

(Logically, it is not possible that such number of men could barge into the house. The neighbors would have noticed. It could be an exaggeration.)

Instead, he believed that about ten men might have perpetrated the crime, and disappeared without a trace after shooting Tangkag and burning his house.

Such was the number of persons of interest that the police were now looking for, added Sinas.

Sinas said they were also looking into the possibility that Tangkag might have replaced his brother Tata Negro in the drug trade, even if he had cleared his name with the police in 2018.

Tata Negro, who was then running for Cebu City councilor, was shot dead during a campaign sortie in Barangay Lorega San Miguel on May 2, 2010. While some said his death was politically-motivated, police believed it has related to Tata Negro’s alleged involvement in the illegal drugs trade.

Read More: Pickup truck with bullet holes found abandoned in Barangay Busay, owner’s house reportedly burned

He said the manner of Tangkag’s killing was brutal and showed that the perpetrators could have been “very” angry at him.

Sinas said he has directed the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) to further investigate Tangkag’s death. He also ordered for more patrols in the city’s mountain areas, such as Barangay Malubog, where residents have complained about the lack of police presence. /elb