Police trace gun in Iloilo murder to congressman
BACOLOD, Philippines – An investigation into the murder of a former barangay chairman in Iloilo province veered into a surprising direction when police traced the pistol used in the killing back to an unlikely source: a sitting congressman.
The .45 caliber pistol used in the October 24 shooting was registered to Representative Lex Anthony Cris Colada of the Western Visayas-based Ang Asosasyon Sang Mangunguma Nga Bisaya-Owa Mangunguma (AAMBIS-Owa) party list, confirmed Colonel Bayani Razalan, Iloilo province’s police chief.
Colada’s wife Jennifer, a member of the Garin political dynasty, is the mayor of Guimbal town in the 1st District of Iloilo.
Brigadier General Jack Wanky, director of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Western Visayas, said on Tuesday, November 12, that Colada has been asked to clarify how the firearm used in the killing of Joevanie Triste in Barangay San Rafael in Tigbauan town, ended up in the hands of the suspected gunman, John Castro Jr.
Colada has yet to submit an official response as questions mount about how his gun became a murder weapon. The congressman has also not issued a public statement as of posting time. Rappler will update this report as soon as he or his office releases a statement.
Wanky said the police would not jump to any conclusion yet and was looking into the possibility that the gun was lost by the congressman.
If Colada failed to report the weapon as lost, he said an administrative sanction – such as revoking his gun license – could be imposed.
Any criminal liability would depend on evidence of motive in the killin, Wanky said.
In a report, police said the motive behind the murder stemmed from an old personal grudge. Castro, 51, reportedly held a grudge against Triste, who had testified against him in a gun raid six years earlier.
At the time of his murder, Triste was serving as a councilor of Barangay San Rafael, a village he had previously led as chairman.
According to the police, Castro encountered Triste by a river on October 24, and allegedly shot him twice, resulting in Triste’s immediate death.
Police said Castro subsequently left the firearm with an associate in the barangay on October 26 before fleeing.
Castro, allegedly a former member of the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Bongcayao Brigade, a breakaway faction of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), remains at large as of posting time.
Police said Castro has served time for various criminal cases in the past. While in detention, he completed his secondary education through the Department of Education’s Alternative Learning System (ALS).
On October 28, Love Joy Hosenilla, head of Iloilo City’s anti-squatting task force where Castro once served, turned him over to the police. However, without formal charges, the police couldn’t detain him at that time.
The Iloilo police filed a complaint against Castro with the Iloilo Provincial Prosecutor’s Office on November 5, and it was elevated to a local court. The case, however, has yet to be raffled off to a judge who is expected to issue an arrest warrant. – Rappler.com