Calabarzon police chief says Mayor Halili’s assassin not a sniper

The “well-planned” killing of Tanauan City, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili was not executed by a sniper, Calabarzon Police regional director Chief Superintendent Edward Carranza said Wednesday.

Unlike a sniper that could hit a target from a distance of 500 meters and beyond, Carranza said that Halili’s killer was only 160 meters away from him.

“At a distance of 160 meters, anybody who is proficient enough in a long firearm can hit the target. Even using the steel sight, you can already hit the target,” Carranza said.

“So once you use the word sniper, very particular kasi ‘yan, you are referring to a police and military,” he added.

Carranza said he also talked with members of the Philippine Army, particularly with Major General Rhoderick Parayno, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division regarding the usage of the term sniper.

”He told me that from a distance of 500 meters, that's the time they are using snipers,” he said.

“Once you said a person is a sniper, you have to go through a series of trainings and not everybody who are used into handling long firearms can join a sniping force,” Carranza said.

A sniper hole possibly used by the gunman was found near the crime scene. The photos released by the police showed a hole in a patch of grass that could have had a direct sightline to the mayor, who was hit by a bullet during the city's flag-raising ceremony on Monday morning.

“A person who is capable and proficient enough in the use of a long firearm, that's the general terminology we're going to use,” Carranza said referring to the killer of Halili.

The police are set to conduct a reenactment on Thursday to trace the bullet trajectory and to determine whether the gunman positioned himself in the greenery across the Tanauan City Hall.

An M16 or M4 rifle could have been used to shoot and kill Halili as the bullet that struck the mayor’s left chest was a 5.56 millimeter ammunition.

At least three persons of interest have been identified by the police. Two of whom are allegedly involved in illegal drugs while the other is related to politics.

“The thing is immediately after the incident naka-exfiltrate agad ‘yung gunman..there were no distinctions as to the gunman but we have started looking in all the CCTV,” Carranza said.

“There [are] still no suspects being considered, no direct suspects in the shooting of Halili,” he added.

Carranza, meanwhile, also pointed out that the security personnel of the mayor were seen in the video firing their pistol at an unknown direction instead of securing first the mayor.

“First and foremost, in those kind of incident is to secure the subject, the subject is the mayor, and you have seen in the video that some of his security were firing their pistol at an unknown direction so they were just firing anywhere,” he said.

He said that he has ordered Batangas Provincial Police Office director Senior Superintendent Edwin Quilates to secure all of the firearms or pistols that were used by the security personnel of the mayor.

“In order to make sure that none of these ammo, has hit the mayor, not only that, in order to also make sure that all the short firearms used there were licensed firearms,” Carranza said.

The task force in charge of probing the murder of Halili in broad daylight are looking into three possible motives into the killing of the local chief executive which include “politics, the shame campaign that the mayor waged in his city, and his alleged involvement in illegal drugs.”

Halili was one of the local officials whose police power was removed by the National Police Commission in November last year for his alleged involvement in illegal drugs.

Despite this, he was known for his hard stance against illegal drugs, even having drug suspects parade in public in his "Walk of Shame" campaign.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said that his killing may have been due to his alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade. — BAP, GMA News