Radioman tagged in Davao slay

 DAVAO CITY – A radio block-time announcer here is facing murder charges for the death last Christmas Eve of Fernando “Batman” Lintuan, a fellow broadcaster at the same radio station, Aksyon Radyo dxGO.

Block-timer Leonilo Larosa was reportedly identified by two witnesses to be Lintuan’s killer.

The National Bureau of Investigation-Southeastern Mindanao Regional Office (SEMRO) filed the murder charges before the Davao City prosecutor’s office last Friday.

The NBI also charged Larosa and his nephew Cristobal Matundo, 21, with violation of Presidential Decree 1866 or illegal possession of firearms, for which both posted P80,000 bail each.

With Larosa out on bail, the NBI is poised to ask the Bureau of Immigration to issue a hold departure order against him.

Reynaldo Esmeralda, NBI deputy director for regional operations service, said he would arrange a meeting with NBI Director Nestor Mantaring and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez tomorrow to discuss the Lintuan case.

Esmeralda said there is a possibility that Larosa might go into hiding.

“That is why I will be meeting with the NBI director and DOJ secretary. I would ask the DOJ secretary to order the BI to issue an HDO against Larosa,” Esmeralda said.

Esmeralda said murder is supposed to be a non-bailable offense, “but the assassination happened more than a month ago so it was subjected to regular filing before the prosecutor’s office because under the rules of court, the prosecutor would have to conduct a regular preliminary investigation and give the respondent 10 days to file his counter-affidavit.”

“The investigation has been one-sided so far,” he added.

A 15-year-old boy reportedly identified Larosa to have shot dead Lintuan, 52, while an office staff member at dxGO also allegedly narrated the feud between the two broadcasters.

Larosa, 48, was arrested in a raid on his house here Wednesday night by local NBI agents.

But Larosa, through his lawyer, Carlos Zarate, questioned the raid.

Zarate told The STAR that Larosa has denied all accusations against him while he also questioned the irregularity of the search.

The NBI raid was reportedly backed by a search warrant allegedly for Larosa’s illegal possession of two .45 caliber pistols and two other M-16 Armalite rifles.

“However, the NBI agents did not find anything at the Fortune Village house of the Larosas, who have already transferred to Liceralde Village. From Fortune, the NBI personnel conducted follow-up operation at the Liceralde Village house of the Larosas, which was already not covered by the search warrant,” Zarate said.

It was reportedly in the follow-up raid at the Liceralde Village that the NBI agents found Matundo in possession of a firearm, which reportedly turned out to be a  .45 caliber model of an airsoft gun.

Zarate also lamented how reports were blown out of proportion, implicating Larosa in the killing of Lintuan.

Larosa and Lintuan were reportedly not in good terms over the alleged attacks of Lintuan against the former’s radio program, which gives out tips on the local numbers game called “Last Two.”

“They are trying to implicate Larosa in the Lintuan murder. But they could not hold Larosa in detention further after we have worked out his bail,” Zarate said.

Zarate said Larosa and Matundo were released on temporary liberty Friday afternoon after posting bail.

Search and arrest

It appeared that the NBI-SEMRO was able to secure a search warrant from Executive Judge Isaac Robillo Jr. of the 11th Judicial Region-Regional Trial Court last Jan. 23 that allowed it to search Larosa’s vehicle, a Mitsubishi Pajero.

At around 7 p.m. that day, an NBI surveillance team tailed Larosa’s vehicle but they might have been detected, prompting Matundo to alight from the car and approach them.

He reportedly drew a firearm from his waist, but when the NBI did not show any reaction he went inside the Liceralde Village.

Thirty minutes later, Larosa, accompanied by unidentified men, left the house in Liceralde Village and proceeded to Lanang, Davao

City.

After serving the search warrant the NBI agents looked inside Larosa’s vehicle and reportedly found one Colt Mark IV, Series 80, .38 caliber Super Pistol, four magazines, 32 rounds of ammunition for .38 caliber, a magazine pouch, one outside gun holster, and one black clutch bag.

Larosa failed to produce documents authorizing him to carry these. The NBI agents also searched his home but failed to find other firearms.

The agents then decided to return to Liceralde Village and saw the man who pulled a firearm in their presence standing at the gate of the house. When the NBI agents identified themselves, the man reportedly ran toward the house but the operatives chased him and fired warning shots. He was later identified as Matundo.

At around 9:40 a.m. of Dec. 24, Lintuan had just ended his regular morning radio program at dxGO on R. Castillo street when he, along with fellow radio anchorman Edgar Banzon and Lucio Ceniza, boarded the victim’s green beetle type Volkswagen.

Upon reaching the junction of R. Castillo, a man on board a motorcycle and wearing a helmet approached Lintuan and shot him twice in the head with a .45 caliber pistol, killing him instantly.

Esmeralda said the pistol recovered from Larosa’s car could be converted into a .45 caliber by just changing the barrel.

“This is why we would be conducting a ballistics test on the suspect’s weapon to determine if they have the same identifying marks,” he said.

As to early news reports linking Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Rep. Prospero Nograles to the killing, Esmeralda said, “From the start, we never found any evidence to support this information.” – With Evelyn Macairan