PROBE. Calabarzon Police Regional Director Chief Supt. Edward Carranza (center) presides over a press conference late afternoon on Tuesday (July 3). He said an ordinary marksman could be behind the killing of Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili as the line of sight of some 160 meters vantage point could not be considered a sniper’s work. (Photo courtesy of PRO4A-RPIO)
CAMP GEN. VICENTE LIM, Calamba City -- Calabarzon Police Regional Director Chief Supt. Edward Carranza said an ordinary marksman could be behind the killing of Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili as the line of sight of some 160 meters vantage point could not be considered a sniper’s work.
At a late afternoon press conference on Tuesday at the regional police headquarters here, Carranza has ordered the “Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Halili”, which he formed hours after the shooting incident, to continuously and vigorously conduct the probe for the case's immediate solution.
“'Yung distansiyang (the distance of) 160 meters cannot be considered as a sniper work. 'Yun pong 160 meters, if you are a marksman as an ordinary marksman kaya niya pong tumama sa (he could hit within) 160 meters whether you’re using a steel sight or a scope,” Carranza explained.
He said that authorities have initially scoured the open grassy field believed to be the site where the triggerman could have taken the vantage point.
The SITG Halili is probing into the line of sight around 160 meters from where Halili was standing and was hit by a bullet on his left chest during the flag-raising rites around 8:10 a.m. at the city hall grounds in Barangay Natatas.
“Ang na-recover lang kasi was the fired bullet which was a 5.56 mm ammunition so with that it can be a standard M-16, an M-4,” he said.
The Calabarzon Regional Crime Laboratory Office here also processed the remains of Halili through autopsy examination led by Chief Insp. Pete Malinao, the medico-legal officer who revealed that Halili’s death was due to hypovolemic shock secondary to gunshot wound to the chest.
Malinao also showed the body sketch where the bullet pierced through Halili’s left chest, hitting the vital organs like the heart, slid down diagonally and further hit the liver.
Recovered fragments of slug from the mayor’s body were also subjected to ballistic examination which confirmed that the fragmented slug is 5.56 mm ammunition usually used in an M-16 rifle.
Carranza said according to a report from the crime lab, only a bullet hit the mayor’s left chest which slid down but did not exit Halili’s body.
He also announced the task force will be conducting their re-enactment and thorough site ocular inspection at the crime scene on Thursday in the city hall grounds.
“Kaya magkakaroon po tayo ng re-enactment. 'Yon pong line of sight ng bala mula po sa kinatatayuan ni Mayor kaya magre-reenactment po tayo. From there malalaman po natin from where the mayor was standing and the gunman’s position in the bushes kung tama ba na 'yong linya ng bala na tumagos sa dibdib ng alkalde ng Tanauan (We will have our re-enactment to determine the line of sight from where the Mayor was standing. From there, we could establish from where the mayor was standing and the gunman’s position in the bushes if the line of the sight for the bullet was right as it hit the Tanauan Mayor’s chest),” he said.
“Tinamaan muna 'yong cellphone, so 'yong sinasabi ninyong there was some smoke (The cellphone was hit first as you mentioned there was smoke), so we have to check whether that comes from the cellphone,” Carranza said, quoting the mayor’s civil security who theorized the smoke came from the mobile phone that was hit first before the bullet pierced through Halili’s left chest.
He also disclosed that police investigation has kept under wraps three persons of interest, two of whom are drug-related as the probe continues and is digging deeper whether the killing incident is drug-related or politically-motivated.
He said the mayor’s damaged mobile phone will also be subjected for the regional crime lab examination and investigation as a video went viral showing a smoke which emitted from the mayor’s chest while he slumped to the ground.
“Pina-secure na po namin 'yong cellphone (we are securing the cellphone) and ask the Batangas Police Provincial Director if the cellphone was already recovered,” he said, citing two possibilities the smoke came from the damaged cellphone or from the bullet type that hit Halili.
Another phone is also the subject of an investigation after a video footage went viral in social media showing the shooting incident from the time the Mayor was standing, was hit around 8:10 a.m. up to the time he fell, and the local civil security transporting the mayor’s body to the car.
Authorities said the viral video would have been uploaded in social media by a person who was taking his position at a vantage point and was described to be "suspiciously not in a panic state" while documenting the incident amid the commotion.
Carranza also beefed up the “SITG Halili”, chaired by his regional deputy director Senior Supt. Nolasco Bathan, with Batangas Provincial Police Office director Senior Supt. Edwin Quilates, as vice chair to comprise members from the Regional Investigation and Detective Management Division, Regional Intelligence Division, Regional Public Information Office, Regional Crime Laboratory Office, Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, Regional Anti-Cyber Crime Office, Regional Highway Patrol Unit and the Regional Legal Service.
“We assure the Halili family and the public that no stones will be left unturned. We are also appealing to the public to help us in the investigation of this case. Rest assured that any information that will be given pertaining to this case will be treated with utmost confidentiality,” Carranza said. (With reports from Robert Maico/PNA)
