Bullet found in Halili's body disintegrated, left no evidence —PNP

No clues could be derived from the bullet found in Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili's body as it disintegrated upon entry, Calabarzon police chief Chief Superintendent Edward Carranza said Tuesday in an interview on Unang Balita.

Bullet jackets, however, from the ammunition used to kill Halili were recovered and are now under examination. Halili was shot dead on Monday morning during the flag ceremony at the city hall.

"Nag-disintegrate po 'yung bala upon impact sa katawan. Ine-establish po ng ating eksperto, 'yung ballistic — may na-recover na po na mga jacket po ng bala sa katawan ng alkade at ine-establish po kung anong klaseng baril 'yun," Carranza said.

Carranza did not confirm reports of a "double-action" ammunition as repeatedly stated by persons near the mayor at the time of the incident.

"Wala pa po tayong official statement diyan," he said.

Dr. Raquel Fortun, forensic pathologist, said in an interview on Unang Balita that it was difficult to speculate on the type of bullet used for Halili's killing as it required ballistics experts to conduct tests on the evidence that could be recovered.

She said this was a "usual" and "simple" investigation that will benefit from establishing where the shooter had done the deed.

"Maganda kung na-trace nila, apparently, kung saan nanggaling 'yung putok. And very critical 'yung area na 'yun kasi nagpunta dun 'yung shooter and marami siyang naiwan na traces ng sarili niya na pwedeng i-connect, sana ma-identify at ma-connect, sa tao na 'yun," Fortun said.

"Trace evidence na hinahanap. Ito 'yung microscopic, hindi mo nakikita. Ito 'yung himulmol ng damit, buhok," she continued. "Talagang bubutingtingin mo 'yan... Kung nandun si shooter, pa'no siya nakarating diyan? So ite-trace mo 'yan," she added.

Police were unable to find evidence from the clearing they believe was used by the suspect aside from a single bullet shell.

"Papano siya nakapunta, nakaalis? Kung may kalye na sinasabi, 'yung kalye rin na 'yun titingnan mo kung ano 'yung sasakyan kasi 'yung sasakyan pwede mong ma-trace sana," Fortun said.

Carranza stated in the same interview that they will reenact the crime to determine the line of sight of the gunman and review the possibility that the road behind the grassy area was used by the killer.

"May kalsada po sa likuran niyan," Carranza said, "Pinare-review po namin kung anuman 'yung pick-up ng mga CCTV sa likod po ng kalsada ng masukal na lugar na 'yan," he added.

Halili, a mayor since 2013, was known for his hard stance against illegal drugs, even having drug suspects parade in public in his city in his "Walk of Shame" campaign.

However he has been linked to illegal drugs himself, with President Rodrigo Duterte saying on Monday that his killing may have been due to his alleged involvement in the drug trade. —Rie Takumi/KG, GMA News