NBI: Ragos gun ‘planted’

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is looking into the possibility that the gun recovered from retired Army corporal Winston Ragos was planted after he was shot by a policeman at a quarantine checkpoint in Quezon city last month, an official said yesterday.

NBI spokesman Ferdinand Lavin said the .38-caliber handgun may have been planted after Ragos was shot dead by M/Sgt. Danny Florendo Jr.

Florendo claimed that he shot Ragos in self-defense.

“The bureau’s death investigation division is still on case buildup. There are persons who testified that Ragos was unarmed. I think that is the direction of the probe,” Lavin said.

The NBI is investigating whether Florendo intentionally killed Ragos, who was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, before determining if there was murder or homicide, Lavin said.