GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Police authorities on Tuesday assured that the city’s security situation remains under control in the wake of the series of killings perpetrated by motorcycle-riding gunmen in the past several weeks.
Col. Gilberto Tuzon, city police director, said he has ordered police units in the city to expand their intelligence monitoring and fast-track the investigation, as well as the resolution of all murder incidents in the area.
Since January, a total of 23 gun-related killings were already recorded in the city, with four incidents this month.
The victims included a female executive of the media network Brigada Group of Companies here and a manager of its security agency.
“Rest assured that we are focused on resolving these cases and in giving due justice to the victims and their families,” Tuzon told reporters.
He said he has been closely monitoring the progress of the ongoing investigation and the tracking of the perpetrators.
He directed the city’s eight police stations and support units to intensify their intelligence gathering and security operations against motorcycle “riding-in-tandem” suspects.
Tuzon said he ordered the strengthening of their visibility and mobile patrols in various communities to pre-empt the movement of criminal elements.
Maj. Rexor Jake Canoy, city police community affairs and development chief, said their investigation units were already following leads in some of the cases and have filed charges against the suspects.
He said most of the gun-related murders these past months were traced to personal grudges and related motives.
Of the four recent cases, the city police office has already identified and filed charges against a suspect in one of them, specifically the killing on June 4 of Brigada Group executive office director and chief of staff Yentez Quintoy.
An employee of the company’s security agency Global Dynamic Star, identified as Ralph Gerald Sorabia, was charged with murder after being tagged as the alleged gunman.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) 12 (Soccsksargen) condemned the spate of killings in the city but noted that it “appreciate(s) and acknowledge(s)” the “steadfast dedication” of the police to deter crimes and end criminality in the area.
It cited the recent development, especially with the “early resolution” of Yentez’s murder.
“The arrested suspects should be brought to justice without shortcuts and should receive (the) condign punishment,” the commission said.
The CHR-12 added that while there’s a good indication of sincere efforts on the part of the police leadership in ferreting out the truth behind the series of killings in the city, it will remain watchful and vigilant along with its partner stakeholders of “human rights vis-à-vis state action and official conduct
Source: Philippines News Agency