2 cops who brought Dragon, wife to hospital disarmed

ILOILO CITY, Philippines – The two policemen who brought alleged drug lord Melvin “Dragon” Odicta and his wife Meriam to the hospital after they were fatally shot in Malay, Aklan last Monday have been disarmed.

Supt. Gilbert Gorero, Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) spokesman, said the two policemen, whose identities were withheld, were disarmed to avoid claims of a whitewash in the probe of the killings.

However, Gorero said the two policemen were part of the team that responded to the shooting of the Odictas at the Caticlan jetty port in Malay last Aug. 29.

“The firearms would be subjected to ballistic examination and the two policemen will undergo paraffin test,” Gorero said.

The move is in apparent response to statements made by the Odicta camp that the businessman was still alive and only suffered non-life threatening injuries when the policemen brought him and his wife to the local hospital.

Odicta’s family lawyer Gualberto Cataluña said that he and another of their lawyers Raymond Fortun were to fetch the couple from the port.

He said they were waiting at the port’s gate when they heard gunshots.

He said he was even talking to Meriam over the phone when the attack happened.

Odicta, Cataluña said, managed to call him to say that he had been hit in the leg.

Odicta was reportedly able to walk as he was assisted to the patrol car, and even managed to raise his wounded leg.

He added they tried to follow the police car carrying the Odictas to Kalibo Hospital but were surprised to learn the victims were brought to the Malay Hospital instead.

It was a shock, he added, after learning that the two were declared dead on arrival.

But earlier, Senior Supt. John Mitchell Jamili, Aklan police chief, said that the Odictas were not handcuffed since they were not suspects.

He stressed that the first responding team did not recognize the victims until they reached the hospital.

The police have created Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) Odicta to coordinate all investigation units involved in the case.

Members of SITG Odicta conducted a reenactment of the crime at the Caticlan jetty port in Malay town.

In a report submitted to Camp Crame in Quezon City, the SITG said no witness has come forward to shed light on the killings of the Odictas.

Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos, spokesman of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said the reenactment established that the incident happened at about 1:15 a.m. and a lone gunman used a caliber .45 pistol to shoot the couple.

“Meriam was shot first with apparent fatal result; Melvin was able to run a few steps but was hit by the succeeding fire, fell down and crawled a few feet across the covered walkway before losing consciousness,” Carlos said.

Police said that the pistol of the assassin apparently jammed as indicated by one ejected live round and magazine recovered at the crime scene.

Carlos said that responding police officers were members of the Aklan Provincial Police Safety Company that were by coincidence conducting a checkpoint near the Caticlan jetty port.

“Responders arrived within five minutes after receiving the call, and two responders carried the immobile body of Meriam and loaded her into the passenger cab,” he added.

“Two other responders assisted by an unidentified male person carried the unconscious Melvin and placed him on the left rear seat of the PPSC covered pick-up while the rest of the responders conducted paneling of the port to include the MV St. Padua in search of the suspects,” the report stated.

The SITG said the victims were brought to the Malay Municipal Hospital in Barangay Motag located about 4 kilometers from the crime scene but had to pass by the Malay Police Station located 2.5 kilometers onwards to ask for a guide.

During the reenactment, the SITG found out that attending physician at the hospital Dr. Michel Dipakakibo did not make any effort to move the bodies from the vehicle, apparently recognizing their lifeless condition upon their arrival.

Authorities said employees of the funeral parlor transferred the bodies at around 3:30 a.m. into separate vehicles.

PDEA meeting

Meanwhile, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Isidro Lapeña said the government should strengthen the cooperation and partnership with international drug enforcement agencies.

Assistance from their international counterparts is vital, especially since illegal drugs mostly come from abroad, Lapeña said during an event in Quezon City. - With Romina Cabrera, Cecille Suerte Felipe