CAGAYAN
DE ORO: Police has filed multiple murder and frustrated murder charges against
one of the suspects in the ambush of Iligan City Rep. Vicente “Varf” Belmonte,
which killed four of his bodyguards.
A
Sunstar report identified the suspect as Dominador Tumala, alias Doming, 62,
who was reported as arrested last Saturday, two days after the attack.
Tumala,
according to the AFP, used to be an NPA under District Lando operating in
Zamboanga del Norte.
A
statement from PNP-Normin regional director C/Supt. Isagani Genabe Jr. said the
suspect is also an ex-CAFGU, a paramilitary group of the AFP.
Tumala
hails from Centro Osmeña of Zambo Norte and is also temporarily residing at New
Land Mutia, of the same province.
Belmonte’s
staff workers who survived the attack identified Tumala as one of the attackers
when they saw the suspect.
Tumala,
according to them, was holding an M16 rifle and with his cohorts, allegedly
fired on Belmonte’s convoy.
The
congressman came from Laguindingan airport and was on his way to Iligan when ambushed
at Brgy. Gasi, Laguindingan.
Belmonte
said one of his close-in security escorts, named PO3 Marcos Andres, died on the
spot while two of his aides, Ian Dumaguing and Eustique Silanan, were declared DOA
by attending physicians at MOPH in Alubijid.
Tumala
was identified by the PNP though the mole near his left eye, matching an NBI artist’s
sketch as well as the suspect’s proximity from the convoy at the time of the
incident.
A
witness, a sari-sari storeowner, told police that Tumala asked her for a glass
of water, appearing unkempt. Her suspicion grew when Tumala drank five glasses
of water.
The
PNP said the storeowner was already aware of the ambush and she too, like other
residents in the area, believed that some of the suspects in the ambush might
have been hiding in their village.
Tumala
was arrested by soldiers and police after the storeowner secretly told her
nephew to inform the police manning a nearby outpost.
The
PNP said Tumala’s companions may have left him and two other unnamed suspects who
were on the roadside in their haste to escape.
The
L300 van used by Tumala and company was found torched in Sitio Liberty near Gasi.
The
police said they are continuing their search for the two remaining suspects,
including Sitio Pagangon.
But
in an interview with reporters, Tumala denied involvement in the ambush, saying
he did not even know Belmonte.
He
admitted he was on his way to the airport to fetch his sister, who was expected
to arrive from Manila at the time when police arrested him..
The
suspect also said that he ran and hid in a secluded area in Gasi near the
airport because he felt afraid when he heard the gunshots.