Questions raised on radioman’s role in Lintuan killing

DAVAO CITY – Who really killed Batman?

This question still lingers as doubts were raised as to the alleged involvement of radio block-time announcer Leonilo Larosa, 48, in the killing last Christmas Eve of Fernando “Batman” Lintuan, 52, his fellow block-time broadcaster at Aksyon Radyo dxGO here.

Lintuan was popularly known as “Batman” because he was a descendant of the Mandaya tribe of Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley.

Larosa, who is out on bail on charges of illegal possession of firearms, was tagged by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) as Lintuan’s alleged killer after he was identified by a teenage witness in a police line-up last Friday.

NBI agents arrested Larosa and his nephew Cristobal Matundo during a raid last Wednesday night for illegal possession of firearms.

But just before Larosa and Matundo were released after posting P80,000 bail for their temporary liberty, murder charges were filed against them for the Lintuan killing

“Doubts would surely surface as to the involvement of Larosa in the killing of Lintuan. Two other witnesses earlier had identified another person as the alleged gunman, and now we have Larosa. How could you reconcile the two findings?” asked lawyer Carlos Zarate, Larosa’s legal counsel.

Zarate argued that what are important in a murder case are the elements of a “murderer” and the gun or whatever weapon used.

“There is no murder case if there is no gunman and no gun,” he said.

Zarate said the identification last Dec. 29 of a certain Oliver Antoc as the alleged gunman by two other witnesses – a mother and son – would surely raise doubt on Larosa’s alleged role in the killing.

Police arrested Antoc for alleged illegal possession of firearms and illegal drugs after he was found to be in possession of a caliber .45 pistol and a sachet of shabu while buying roasted chicken in an eatery here last Dec. 28.

Antoc was then endorsed to the multi-agency Task Force Batman led by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). He was subsequently identified in a police line-up by a mother and her teenage son, separately, as Lintuan’s alleged attacker.

The Task Force Batman did not pursue the murder case against Antoc since the supposed third witness failed to identify him.

However, in a separate line-up last Friday, the third witness reportedly pinpointed Larosa as the alleged gunman.

“It was clear that the task force did not rely on the identification through the police line-up, but the NBI now came up with something positively identifying Larosa,” Zarate said.

“As it is now, there are two suspects already. One was the one identified by the mother and her son, and Larosa. Which one is it really?” Zarate added.

Besides, Zarate said Larosa has vehemently denied any involvement in the Lintuan killing despite their reported feud.

“Until now, we also do not admit that the caliber .38 that was allegedly found in Larosa’s possession was really his. We have witnesses to prove it was not his,” he said.

Zarate said it is the NBI, “not us,” that carries the “burden” of proving the allegations against Larosa.

He said the spat between the two broadcasters was not enough reason for Larosa to kill Lintuan.

“It was a normal disagreement among fellow workers in a station or any workplace but it was not a reason to kill. Larosa even called the attention of the management of the radio station about their differences which I believed were already resolved before Lintuan was killed,” he said.

Zarate also insisted that Larosa did not get out of the city after Lintuan was slain, showing he has nothing to do with the crime.

Zarate also cited the need for ballistic tests on the Super caliber .38 pistol that was found inside Larosa’s Mitsubishi Pajero during last Wednesday’s raid.

“If indeed the NBI said the barrel of Larosa’s gun could be changed, then they have to show also where is the barrel of the caliber .45 pistol that was used in killing Lintuan based on the slugs found in the crime scene,” he said.

“If I were the gunman, I would throw away the gun rather than change barrels. Why change barrels?” he asked.

Sources said the barrel of a caliber .45 pistol could be changed to accommodate caliber .38 bullets, but not vice versa.

The raid on Larosa was conducted by NBI agents allegedly without coordination with the CIDG-led Task Force Batman that has been working on the Lintuan case.

“We are just awaiting instructions on what to do,” CIDG Southern Mindanao chief Benhur Mongao told The STAR.

From more than a dozen possible leads in the Lintuan murder case, Mongao’s group has trimmed them down to nearly a third, as they wanted to ensure a solid case against anyone they would eventually charge.