High-powered rifle used to shoot, kill Halili

An M16 or M4 rifle could have been used to shoot and kill Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili, a police official said on Tuesday.

"According sa firearm identification, ang narecover lang kasi was the fired bullet which was a 5.56 millimeter ammunition. So with that, it can be a standard M16, an M4 or anything with the calibration of a bullet similar to that of an armalite," Southern Tagalog police director Chief Superintendent Edward Carranza said at a press conference.

Carranza said the PNP still didn't have a suspect in the killing of Halili but added that it had already identified two to three persons of interest.

Two of these individuals were allegedly linked to illegal drugs.

Carranza said the PNP would conduct a reenactment of the crime scene to determine the trajectory and position of the gunman.

"We will be undertaking a reenactment. I have requested our SIDG commander as well as the crime lab to reenact this. We also have to take using the sight, from that position hitting the mayor, tama ba 'yung trajectory. That's something we have to study," Carranza said.

"We would like to determine 'yung positioning talaga ng gunman and crime lab, we would like to make the exact height of the mayor standing in that area para madetermine natin ang pasok ng bala," he added.

Halili was fatally shot while attending a flag ceremony in the city hall on Monday morning.

President Rodrigo Duterte linked the assassination to Halili's alleged involvement in illegal drugs.

Halili’s family, on the other hand, denied that the slain government official was involved in the illegal drugs trade.

The wake of Halili has been opened for public viewing. —Anna Felicia Bajo/NB, GMA News