After massacre, Kawit police chief relieved, entire force under probe

Published January 5, 2013 8:30am

UPDATED 12:30 p.m. - Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Alan Purisima said he has ordered the relief of the Kawit police chief while a probe is being conducted into the massacre that claimed the lives of at least eight people in Cavite on Friday. Aside from Chief Inspector Joel Saliba, the town's police chief, the entire police force in Kawit, Cavite is now being investigated for the massacre.

Eight people, including a pregnant woman and two children--the suspect's very own godchildren-- were killed when a man reported to be under the influence of drugs and alcohol went on a shooting spree in Kawit. The gunman, Ronald Bae, was killed by responding policemen. Bae shot dead at least seven and wounded at least 11 before he was gunned down by responding policemen.

In an interview over radio dzBB on Saturday morning, Purisima said their initial findings showed that Bae had been involved in drugs and that their records showed that the gunman was linked to a drug case in Cavite some three years ago. "Inimbestigahan natin ang buong Kawit police. Pina-relieve ko na, administrative relief, ang chief of police ng Kawit para bigyang daan ang investigation natin kung bakit mabagal ang action."

The Kawit police had been criticized for their slow response to Bae's shooting spree.

However, Purisima said an initial investigation showed that the Kawit police responded quickly when they were alerted about the shooting spree. However, the plea for police help reportedly was not made immediately after the incident occured.

"Sa initial information, sa pagtanggap ng information, nagresponde agad ang pulis at doon nagkaroon agad ng engkwentro. Maaring dumating late ang information o may gusto mag-take advantage sa situation para magkaroon ng issue. Kasi panahon ng election period ngayon at take advantage ang iba para mapagusapan sila," he said.

He also pointed out that it is the obligation of the police to make sure residents know how to call them quickly.

"Obligasyon ng pulis na ipaalam ang contact number para sila tawagan," Purisima said.

Purisima said it was possible that some people with interests in the May 2013 election could be drumming up the issue to gain media mileage. He did not elaborate.

Cohort surrenders to police

Meanwhile, a report of GMA Network's "Saksi" news program on Friday said an aunt surrendered to the police her nephew John Paul Lopez, an alleged cohort of Bae. Lopez allegedly helped Bae reload his gun, according to witnesses. The local police has yet to consider Lopez as a suspect in the crime.

In his statement to the media, Lopez said he tried to stop the gunman but Bae seem not to be listening.

"Inawat ko po siya, pero parang hindi na.. parang wala na pong kakilala. Sinusungalngal niya sa mukha ko ('yung baril) na ipuputok niya," said Lopez.

Calabarzon regional police director Chief Superintendent James Melad said because the gunman is already dead, the police investigation will focus on how and why the massacre was committed.

Aside from reportedly being under the influence of drugs and alcohol, Bae could have had "family problems" too when he went into a shooting rampage, the investigators said. - With a report from Shaira F. Panela/VVP, GMA News

Tags: kawit, cavite, massacre