Killed in police custody: A trail of silenced suspects?

Last July 15, the alleged leader and a member of the Ozamiz robbery group, Ricky Cadavero alias "Kambal" and Wilfredo Panogalinga Jr. alias "Kulot," were killed by their escorts as the police convoy that was transporting them to Laguna was purportedly ambushed by unidentified gunmen.

A forensic investigation conducted by the Department of Justice has indicated a possible rubout, and Region IV-A police chief Benito Estipona has been relieved of his command along with the 13 police officers who served as the gang members' escorts.

During his State of the Nation Address on Monday, President Benigno S. Aquino III warned the masterminds of the alleged execution that they will be punished. Subsequently, Justice Secretary Leila De Lima revealed that a police-backed syndicate could have silenced the Ozamiz gang members.

The killing of the Ozamiz gang suspects is only the latest in a long list of incidents where convicted or suspected criminals died in the hands of police officers while in government custody.

The following list compiled by GMA News Research shows a disturbing pattern of convicts or suspects getting killed as they purportedly resisted their police escorts, many of whom went unpunished.

February 9, 2013: Maguindanao massacre suspect

Maguid Amil, a suspect in the gruesome Maguindanao Massacre in 2009, was supposedly evading arrest and trying to run away with a grenade in hand when police officers shot him in Datu Unsay town in Maguindanao province.

December 8, 2012: QC murder suspect

Roel Habal was a suspect in the fatal stabbing of a 12-year-old girl in Quezon City. The police were able to arrest him. But inside the patrol car, Habal allegedly strangled one of his police escorts and seized the officer's service firearm. The other police escorts shot him to death.

November 16, 2012: Multiple murder suspect

Murder suspect Nestor Delizalde Jr. was arrested after allegedly killing three people in Sta. Cruz, Manila. In a supposed scuffle with his police escorts, the suspect purportedly attempted to grab a policeman’s service firearm that subsequently went off, hitting him in the forehead.

Police officials vowed to carry out an honest investigation. None of the suspect’s police escorts were relieved from their posts.

March 13, 2012: Rape-slay suspects

Two pedicab drivers - Roderick Soliveres and Cecilio Bacolo - who were arrested for the brutal rape-slay of a seven-year-old girl in Sta. Mesa, Manila were shot dead after supposedly trying to grab the service firearm of a police escort.

February 25, 2012: Suspect in Manila cop's killing

Criminology student Freddieric Gelito was a suspect in the death of police officer Ramuel dela Cruz, who was gunned down in Tutuban, Manila. After the 23-year-old was arrested, he allegedly tried to grab a police escort’s firearm while on their way to his medical exam before his detention. The police shot and killed him.

February 4, 2012: Suicide inside police car?

Chinese national Gong Shu Yang was suspected to have killed his girlfriend after allegedly running over the victim multiple times along Roxas Boulevard, as caught by a CCTV camera. The police arrested Yang but while they were inside a police vehicle, he allegedly grabbed the police escort’s firearm and killed himself.



The Philippine National Police said it would look into whether safety protocols were followed in the prisoner's transport from the crime scene to the police station.

March 29, 2011: Teenagers gunned down

Two teenagers – Jeffrey Camposano,19, and Rosel Tactacin, 18, – were arrested after firing a pen gun at a student along Tejeron St. in Sta. Ana, Manila. While the suspects were inside the investigation room of Manila Police District 6 in Sta. Ana Police Community Precinct, the teenagers supposedly tried to grab their police escort’s service firearm. The other officers in the station shot and killed both suspects.

August 2, 2010: Carjack gang leader Ivan Padilla

The police claimed to have busted a major carjacking syndicate following the arrest of its supposed leader, Ivan Padilla. But he died while police were transporting him to the hospital, after getting wounded in a shootout earlier in the day in Makati.

The Commission on Human Rights has said it would investigate the circumstances surrounding Padilla’s death while in police custody.

June 23, 2010: Seaman’s suspected killer

Ronald Sevilla was a suspect in the robbery-murder of a seaman in Manila. But he was shot dead by his escorts inside a police car during a supposed escape attempt, while he was being taken to the prosecutor’s office for inquest.

However, Sevilla’s family did not believe the authorities' explanation of how he died.

November 7, 2008: Suspected killer of Pasay cop

Lito Tagalog was the suspect in the killing of PO3 Reynaldo Aguba of the Pasay police. The suspect was caught in Lucena City in Quezon province. En route to Pasay City, where the suspect was supposed to identify the place where he threw his firearm, Tagalog was killed while he was reportedly attempting to grab his police escort’s service firearm.

Chief Inspector Joey Goforth, who killed Tagalog, was relieved from his post to allow an impartial investigation into the fatal shooting.

May 17, 1995: Kuratong Baleleng crime syndicate

Eleven suspected members of the organized syndicate, which was involved in a range of crimes including the illegal drugs trade and gambling, were apprehended inside their "safe house" in Superville Subdivision in Parañaque City. The following day, they were killed during an alleged shootout along Commonwealth Avenue, after they had just come from Camp Crame in Quezon City with their police escorts.

Relatives of the victims claimed the incident was a rubout, and 34 civilians and policemen including then Police Supt. Panfilo Lacson -- head of Task Force Habagat, one of the police units involved in the case -- were implicated in the killing.

In 2001, Lacson was elected to the Senate and served until June this year. In March last year, the Supreme Court cleared Lacson and the other suspects charged in the Kuratong Baleleng rubout case.

August 12, 1994: Child rape-slay suspect

Abundio Lagunday was the prime suspect in the rape-slay case of seven-year-old Angel Alquiza, who was found dead in Binondo, Manila. Eight days after his arrest, the suspect was being taken to the crime scene to provide more details on the incident when he allegedly tried to grab the service firearm of his police escort. Another policeman shot him dead.

The "US Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 1994 - Philippines" concluded that Lagunday was executed. — Rouchelle R. Dinglasan/DVM/YA, GMA News