Triad behind Sy-Lato slay?

Police investigators said Chinese triad gangsters may have been behind the killing of David Sy-Lato, president of the Binondo-based gun club who was shot dead while leaving a restaurant in the Chinatown district of Manila Wednesday.

The victim may have been silenced by the Chinese triad behind the operations of the shabu laboratory in San Juan, investigators told The STAR yesterday.

Sy-Lato, 35, was reportedly tracing a money trail of the Chinese triad involved the shabu laboratory operations in San Juan when he was killed at the corner of Sto. Cristo and San Fernando streets in Binondo at about 2 p.m.

Narcotics Group (Narcgroup) chief Director Efren Fernandez revealed that he hired Sy, the president of the Manila Downtown Shooting Range Shooters Association, to trace the bank accounts of the suspected Chinese triad members at the so-called "Binondo Central Bank."

"We cannot do anything about that (Sy’s killing). It’s the nature of our operations," said Fernandez, noting that the death of the Sy-Lato can stall their ongoing investigation on the finances of the Chinese triad operating in the Philippines.

Sources said before his death, Sy confided to his wife that a number of Chinese-looking men, accompanied by a number of armed Filipinos have been tailing him. But it was too late for his wife to convince him to stop working for the Narcgroup, police said.

The same sources said Sy was hired by the Narcgroup after the successful raid at the shabu laboratory in San Juan earlier this month.

His job was to double check with the Binondo Central Bank the money trail of the local counterparts of the triad members involved in the manufacture of shabu.

A Narcgroup official said Sy has forwarded his initial findings to his "project officer" before he was killed. But the official said he was not able to take a look at Sy’s report.

Although already wounded, Sy was able to draw his caliber .45 automatic pistol and return fire on the suspects, wounding one of them. He was later identified as Decoroso Pamesa, 32, of upper Bicutan, Taguig. Two of the suspects escaped towards Del Pan street on board a motorcycle with plate number TP-102.

Police recovered from Decoroso a caliber .38 revolver. Decoroso refused to answer questions from investigators.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has joined the police in investigating Sy’s killing. — Cecille Suerte Felipe