Odicta couple double-crossed?

CEBU, Philippines - In what seemed a hint of the police innocence in the death of Melvin Sr. and Meriam Odicta, Police Regional Office-6 opined that the slain couple could have been double-crossed.

Superintendent Gilbert Gorero, PRO-6 spokesperson, said one of the possible motives of killing of the Odicta couple “was because of their alleged disclosure of drug personalities in the region which the victims divulged to the Secretary of Interior and Local Government (SILG).”

The Odicta couple were killed early morning of August 29, Monday, at the Caticlan Jetty Port in Malay, Aklan. Melvin was considered as the topmost drug personality in Western Visayas.

Even Chief Superintendent Jose Gentiles, PRO-6 director, himself did not discount such motive claiming that “other possible masterminds in Panay Island are afraid that their past association to the victims will spell their doom.”

“PRO-6 values the life of every individual and respect human rights and due process of law. We appeal to the public who has a direct knowledge of the incident to come out in the open and help our investigation so that justice will prevail,” Gentiles added.

Senior Superintendent John Mitchell Jamili, Aklan Police Provincial director, also clarified the issue pertaining to the alleged handcuffing by responding policemen to Melvin Sr. “It’s not true. They were not the suspects on the said incident at all and the gestures of the police was to save the lives of the couple if it was possible, by bringing them to the hospital,” he said

Further, Jamili noted that the first responding team did not even know the victims and only came to know the latter’s identities upon arrival in the hospital. “The responding policemen could not pronounce any medical status of the victims but only the attending physician. Likewise we are not tolerating any mischief or wrongdoings of our fellow police officers,” Jamili said

Autopsy

Based on the autopsy conducted on the couple, Melvin Sr. sustained four gunshot wounds, while Meriam succumbed to a lone wound on the back of her body.

Melvin had gunshot injuries on the head, chest, buttock, and leg. Superintendent Owen Lebaquin, medico-legal officer of the PNP Regional Crime Laboratory, said Meriam was shot not within a close range, which meant that she was shot from a distance of more than three feet, he added.

Melvin, on the other hand, was also shot from a distance except for his gunshot injury on the head, which may be within three feet, said Lebaquin, but he clarified it was not in contact with the skin.

Melvin’s chest injuries proved fatal. Lebaquin said. “Two slugs were taken from Melvin, while no slug was taken from Meriam as her back injury was through and through her stomach just above her navel.”

SITG formed

After their death, PRO-6 created Special Investigation Task Force (SITG) Odicta to dig deeper into the death of the victims. Senior Superintendent Alfredo Valdez, PRO-6 deputy director for operations, will spearhead the group.

Valdez said PRO-6 is integrating all efforts being done by investigators from different units. “This SITG is created to widen our investigation and to dig deeper into the possible cause of the incident as well as to know the culprits,” he said.

With Valdez as the SITG supervisor, other members include Jamili, as SITG commander; Chief Inspector Ray Cuanico, officer-in-charge of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Team-Aklan as assistant commander; and Senior Police Officer 1 Nida Gregas, Aklan PNP public information officer, as spokesperson.

Other members are Chief Inspector Dennis Gabihan, Chief Inspector Bernard Ufano, Superintendent Ulysses Ortiz, SPO2 Noel Monares, and Supt. Ariel Galeno, as members, and SPO1 Jaime Nerviol Jr., as the investigator on case. (FREEMAN)